This 1 Insight Will Unlock Your Growth Potential

The Science Behind Change

Prime (noun)
the state or time of greatest vigour or success in a person’s life.

Hi, I’m JasonThis is where I share openly about the challenges, insights and lessons from my own journey. My hope is that these thoughts spark reflections that help you navigate your own path to living better and leading better. 

Jason Leavy
Founder

Prime Perspective: Personal Reflections on Leadership and Growth

This 1 Insight Will Unlock Your Growth Potential

“The mental strain you feel when you’re learning something is the trigger for neuroplasticity for your brain to change”

Andrew Huberman

We all talk about wanting to change, but the reality can be very different. Change is difficult and even the prospect of it can be scary, so many of us opt for the status quo, even if that means the pain of the familiar. 

This was definitely the case for me in my last corporate role - I had all the external markers of success, but I was deeply unhappy. I’d been fortunate to have a career that was filled with work that energized me, but by contrast, my global COO role had become something I endured.

I knew the situation wasn’t sustainable, but I found myself in a state of paralysis - when I thought about resigning, my mind would flood with reasons why I shouldn't. I could see the situation clearly, but something was keeping me locked in place, choosing that familiar pain over the possibility of something better.

It was discovering the actual science behind this that helped me finally make the leap… 

Why Your Brain Resists Change

Your brain has evolved systems that prioritize energy conservation. Established neural pathways are like well-worn tracks in your mind - your brain prefers them because they require minimal energy to navigate.

When you think about change, you're asking your brain to build entirely new connections, a process that demands significant metabolic resources. This is why even positive changes can feel uncomfortable at first - it's all about your brain's preference for energy efficiency.

This is why considering change can feel physically uncomfortable, even when staying put is making you miserable. Your brain would rather deal with known discomfort than expend the energy required to create new pathways.

So the resistance you feel when contemplating growth isn't a warning to stop. It's actually evidence of neuroplasticity is trying to activate. You're literally in the process of rewiring your brain.

The discomfort isn't the enemy - it's proof that change is happening.

The Crucial Insight

Here's the crucial insight: when you understand the science behind the discomfort, you can reframe it entirely. That resistance I felt wasn't evidence of weakness or indecision. It was my brain doing exactly what evolution had designed it to do - conserve energy.

Understanding this science not only helped me walk away from corporate life to start my own venture, it’s also transformed how I approach discomfort in other facets of my life and allowed me to show up better as a result:

  • Nutrition became about being intentional about trying new foods and adopting better habits rather than defaulting to the same old comfort eating.

  • I switched up my training from ‘auto-pilot’ mode and quit CrossFit to focus on mobility and calisthenics. 

  • I decided to become a student of life and replaced the doom-scrolling with deep-focus reading.

The common thread? Deep initial discomfort, with those voices in my head telling me I should just stick to what I know.

The common outcome? Progress on all fronts - healthier, stronger and smarter. 

When the resistance shows up, remind yourself: this is your brain building new pathways.

Discomfort Is A Positive Sign

Think about the achievements in your life that matter most to you.

I’m willing to bet that the common thread is that every single one involved significant discomfort during the journey. That you had those voices in your head telling you to quit, to play it safe, to stick with what you knew.

So you know the truth of what I’m saying - the pain of the familiar feels safer, but it's not serving your future.

And now that I’ve shared the science behind this, take action and embrace that discomfort, because you know it’s a positive signal. Change is happening and this time you are in control.

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