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Hi, Reader,

I felt a kick. I checked my watch. It was 4:00 in the morning.

“Why did you kick me?!” I shouted to my wife.

“Because you are snoring again,” she told me.

I have been a snorer my whole life. Despite how frustrating it is to get woken up in the middle of the night, I can’t really blame my wife. It can get pretty loud. Like, floor-vibrating loud 😅.

I needed to find some way to stop my snoring from waking everyone up, not just for my wife’s sake, but for our daughter’s too. She still sleeps in the room with us, and the last thing I want is to wake her up in the middle of the night.

So I tried something new: a white noise machine.

Technically, this didn’t reduce the amount of noise in the room. If anything, it increased it.

But it changed one important thing: the sound became consistent.

Somehow, we’ve all been sleeping better since.

And it’s gotten me thinking about something much bigger:

Why does predictability make us feel so comfortable?

Comfort in predictability

Before I fall asleep and begin my snoring marathon, I usually scroll YouTube.

Last week, I came across a fascinating video about an experiment involving living neurons.​

Researchers at Cortical Labs connected roughly 800,000 neurons to a simplified game of Pong. When the neurons missed the ball, they received unpredictable electrical stimulation. When they successfully returned it, the feedback became more predictable.

Over time, the neurons adapted. The researchers tied this to the free energy principle: the idea that living systems tend to reduce surprise and seek more predictable states.

That hit home for me because I don’t do particularly well outside of my routine. It’s part of the reason vacations can sometimes be challenging for me.

I’ll bet you can relate: the same coffee... the same time at the gym... the same commute... the same morning routine.

Predictability makes life easier. It requires less mental effort, gives us a sense of control, and removes some of the fear that comes with the unknown.

But the very comfort we seek from predictability can sometimes become the thing that holds us back.

Growth in unpredictability

I still remember the early days of my career at Big Four when my manager would come up to me with a new project, something completely foreign to me. My heart would beat fast. I’d feel overwhelmed and wonder, “What if I just don’t get it?”

Looking back, though, some of the biggest periods of growth in my career started with that exact feeling.

Building a financial model for the first time. Presenting my work to senior stakeholders for the first time. Eventually leaving the predictability of a paycheck and starting my own company.

Each one felt uncomfortable before it became familiar.

And I’ll bet there’s some version of that in front of you right now. Learning that new AI tool...finally figuring out that Excel feature you never got around to...taking on a project that stretches what you’re capable of.

To me, predictability is a great thing...but it isn’t the end goal.

The goal is to have enough of an appetite for change that you never become too comfortable to grow.

I eventually went to see an ENT. He told me it was a story he’d heard many times before: I have a deviated septum.

One option he gave me was surgery. It would mean some recovery time and, if all goes well, could help with the snoring. But there are no guarantees.

Is it worth it for my sake? For my wife’s sake?

For now, I think we’ll stick with the white noise machine. But I’ll remain open to new ideas...and to change.

And now I want to leave you with one question:

What’s one routine you rely on, and what’s one uncomfortable thing you’re trying right now?

Hit reply. I read every response.

Thanks, and have a great predictable weekend…but not too predictable.

Josh
Your CFO Guy