Caeser wrote about the French:
“They cultivate abundance of grain, .. and by reason of plenty, they import things which soften the mind, and, by continuous leisure, achieve that negligence of war which enervates both body and spirit”.
Comfort lowers our threshold for discomfort. When you’ve never known cold, hunger, or hard physical labor, minor stresses feel intolerable. Your grit, your “fight or flight” readiness, atrophies.
Unbridled luxury without balance can dull the will to endure challenge.
We need to purposely build discomfort into your life:
- Exercise
- Challenges
- Nature
- Digital detox
- Shock your system
- Exhaust the body, tame the mind
Comfort without growth leads to stagnation.
Raising a family is a sparring ground that strengthens you
Discomfort is necessary for progress.
To experience comfort, we should go through discomfort.
We also need times of rest and comfort.
Cycle comfort and discomfort for maximum growth
Hormesis is the biological principle that small doses of stress (heat, cold, exercise, fasting) trigger over-compensation: you emerge stronger than before.
Like a vaccine.
If we don’t actively push our comfort zone by making ourselves uncomfortable, it naturally shrinks over time.
Where can we incorporate hormesis in our life?
- Physical Hormesis – heat, cold, strength, distance, intense exercise
- Mental – deep work, writing, reading, thinking, mental challenges in a wide area, learning
- Emotional – challenges, role playing
- High stakes public performance
- Bigger challenges than you think you can do
So don’t be afraid of failure. It strengthens you for future success.
