Get Comfortable Being Uncomfortable

I love this quote from Steph Curry:

"I want to practice to the point that it’s almost uncomfortable how fast you shoot so that in the game things kind of slow down."

If you're not a basketball person, here is the quick context: Stephen Curry is the face of modern shooting in the NBA, a multiple-time champion, and still the engine of the Golden State Warriors. Even now, in the later stage of his career, he isn't coasting. He is still known for doing the unglamorous work, over and over, at a speed that looks excessive for practice. That is what makes the game look calmer when it matters.

That is also one of the best bar prep analogies I know.

Curry, in his 2011 quote, isn't saying “practice a lot.” He's saying something more specific: Practice so fast, so intentionally, that it feels almost uncomfortable.

Why? Because when the moment arrives that actually counts, the environment is already stressful. The lights are bright. The clock is running. The margin for error is thin. If your practice has always felt comfortable, the real thing will feel chaotic.

But if your practice has regularly felt uncomfortable, the real thing feels slower. Clearer. More controllable.

That is the goal of bar prep.

Bar Prep Should Feel Uncomfortable on Purpose

Let me say this plainly: You want to be uncomfortable during practice.

Not miserable. Not burned out. Not panicking. But you want that specific productive discomfort that comes from training at the edge of your current ability:

✅ answering questions with the clock running

✅ writing when you're not sure you have the perfect rule

✅ forcing yourself to pick an answer and move on

✅ finishing an essay even when it feels messy

✅ completing a simulation when your brain starts bargaining for a break

That is the bar exam. So that is what practice has to feel like.

If your daily “practice” never produces discomfort, you may be learning, but you're not fully training for performance (e.g., the exam days).

How to Use the Curry Rule in Your Bar Prep

If you want the bar exam to “slow down,” build discomfort into yoru bar preparation:

Most days: Do at least one timed set of multiple-choice questions (even if it is short).

Every week: Do at least one timed essay or performance question.

Build up: Incorporate exam-day full simulations, because nothing replaces practicing a full day.

Then review: Review not just what you got wrong, but why, and what you missed under time pressure.

The bar exam will never be completely comfortable. But it can feel manageable when you have practiced in a way that makes the real thing feel familiar.

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Curry’s point isn't that discomfort is bad. His point is that discomfort is the training tool.

So if your bar prep feels uncomfortable at times, don't assume that's bad. You may actually be doing it right.