Comfort Crisis

Comfort

The state of being secure, fed, and warm.

A freedom from pain.

Hardwired into us, and yet it’s the number one thing holding most of us back.

Our bodies naturally crave comfort to keep us alive.

But being ‘alive’ and ‘living’ are two very different things.

The body isn't interested in:

• Happiness.

• Ambition.

• Progress.

We want these things for ourselves.

But our desire for comfort gets in the way.

Your body craves it → Technology enables it → Society encourages it.

Comfort-seeking is reinforced through the portrayal of the “good life” in society.

With an increased quality of life comes increased expectations.

We all expect to enjoy every minute of life and have our needs met instantly.

We prioritise comfort and pleasure because what feels good must be right,

Right?

“Life is short so I’m going to enjoy it.”

A valid argument; but there’s a problem.

What if seeking comfort actually leads to more pain?

Let me explain…

Comfort has no place for improvement, growth, or change.

The truth is:

Nothing changes when you stay in your comfort zone, it feels good in the short term, but soon that is replaced by feeling:

• Lost

• Empty

• Unmotivated
  

A life of comfort inevitably leads to regret of not reaching your potential.

Of living life with the handbrake on.

Everyone knows this, but we lack the self-awareness or motivation to reject comfort and live a meaningful life.

It’s easy to mindlessly watch TV and scroll social media. To dull your senses with drugs and alcohol. It’s easy to do the bare minimum.

It’s hard to push yourself physically. To learn new things. To fight the temptations of modern life. It’s hard to do what’s uncomfortable.

Reject easy, embrace hard. Choose to take the leap. Choose to seek discomfort.

14 months ago, I came across this idea.

Of choosing to do difficult things for the betterment of yourself in the future.

But I still wanted to know...

How can discomfort bring more pleasure to your life?

The reason for this is simple:

There are different types of pleasure; earned and unearned.

Comfort = unearned pleasure:

It comes and quickly goes. Leaving us craving that initial hit, feeling more and more dissatisfied over time.

Discomfort = earned pleasure:

That sense of satisfaction you get after finishing your work or after exercising. This pleasure sticks around.

By doing what you don’t want to do, you assert control over your mind, building discipline and boosting your self-image.

Seek pleasure and you receive it, but you are left with pain.

Seek pain and you receive it, but you are left with pleasure.

You can seek discomfort in many ways; here are a few:

• Conquering fears

• Intense exercise

• Cold showers

• Sobriety

• Fasting

It’s your life so do as you please; but think about your choices.

We always have two:

One easy, one hard.

The number of choices we make on either side dictates the quality of our existence.

Treat every choice as a vote for the kind of person you want to become.

Take the hard choice.

Act like a disciplined person until you are one.

Act like a healthy person until you are one.

Act like a writer until you are one.

Over time, the person you want to be becomes aligned with the person you are.

Your actions blur into your habits, and you become a better version of yourself.

But.

It doesn’t stop there.

You will always doubt yourself.

You will feel like an imposter.

That doesn’t matter.

You must continue.

Build momentum and don’t stop because the only escape from comfort is to reject it.

“Hard choices, easy life.”

“Easy choices, hard life.”

- Jerzy Gregorek

“Strong people create good times”,

“Good times create weak people”,

“Weak people create hard times”,

“Hard times create strong people”.

- G. Michael Hopf