Getting Comfortable with Discomfort in the Diamond Industry 

Most of my life, I hated change. Change was uncomfortable, it was scary, and it presented the opportunity for failure. I always felt that if you stayed in the same place, with the same people, doing the same thing, life would run smoothly and there would never be a need to feel anxious.  

While that was true for the most part, I realized it was also boring. Over the years, I’ve come to embrace change, to sit in the discomfort and let it surround me like a cloak. I’ve found that discomfort can help you grow in meaningful and unexpected ways.  

Over the past few years, I have faced many changes in my life — both personally and professionally — and while I struggled through them, I came out the other side tougher, more resilient, more independent, and more confident in myself than I thought possible. I have learned to adapt, to push through, and to know that even when the rain comes down in sheets, the sun is always waiting on the other side to dry it up.  

In my eight years at Rapaport, I have gone from news writer to managing editor of the company’s information services division. Each step I took came with an often painful learning curve — a fact that’s been true of the diamond industry as well. We are a traditional lot, and change can be difficult. When Covid-19 came, businesses shut down. Some went bankrupt, but others found a way to thrive. They implemented new initiatives to draw in customers, debuted better and more diverse e-commerce sites, catered to whole new client categories. 

Right now, the threat of lab-grown is uncomfortable for many. However, it can also be a way to find new growth, to diversify, to find innovative ways to propel business forward. All we have to do is embrace the discomfort. 

Main image: Rapaport Managing Editor Leah Meirovich. (Leah Meirovich)