The most important change that I made this year is becoming comfortable with discomfort. This is why I don’t whine about my 5:30 a.m. personal training sessions, 7-hour IRS Vita training, or picking up 19 hours of overtime at work. I’m more productive than ever and understanding the purpose of growing/learning pains makes the process easier, and even fun.

Short-term discomfort is necessary to achieve long-term gains. Understanding that discomfort is part of a greater process gives it purpose and makes it easier to work through. Sometimes I wish I had this mindset back during college, but I trotted out of undergrad and law school just fine.

Speaking of college, this video perfectly sums up my life back then:

The resident assistant job was one of the most challenging and frustrating experiences of my life. I met my boss’s expectations, followed university rules, and alienated scores of people in the process. The most vital thing that I learned from that experience was the importance of tact and networking. Sure, I learned that lesson a little late for that job, but it served me well in law school and afterward.

I also love what they called the “fishbowl.” Basically, my freshmen residents were always trolling for dirt to use when they got in trouble. That’s part of the reason why I didn’t drink until I turned 21 and why I learned not to post anything that I wouldn’t mind being spun against me.

I relived the RA experience while working for my last landlord. The job was awful at times but it turned out to be endless fodder for interviews. Past conflict resolution challenges? How about a drug dealer and an unmedicated paranoid schizophrenic as tenants? We also had heat that went out on a weekly basis and infestations galore. At least upset customers at work aren’t going to bang on my door at 2 a.m. (I hope.)

Obviously there was not much networking involved in the property management position, but it was very useful in another way. I just hope that none of my old tenants (or dorm residents) show up at my new place.

This coming week I will find out how well I communicated those experiences during my job interviews. I had four interviews during the last two weeks and I am really excited about the position. The interviews were actually a lot of fun, which I think is ideal. I never thought my old crazy tenants would be useful for my career, but this month’s interviews demonstrate that no experience is wasted.