You must choose discomfort every day.
I am not saying throw away your chair and squat at your desk for 8 hours, or remove your bed and sleep on the floor (your back will thank you though).
The world is built around creature comforts to make our lives easier, and more cushioned in every way. Your footwear has cushioning to absorb the impact, you home has built heating and/or air conditioning to keep the room temperature at a comfortable level, your car keeps the harshness and the vibration of the road at bay. Everything has been designed to make your life more comfortable, which is not a bad thing. But continuous comfort is not goof for us either. It’s not just the physical aspect I am talking about either, this also corresponds with your mind.
To stay in comfort is to embrace the known, the here and now, and to accept the status quo. You see the boundary, you know the limits, and choose not to pass them. Past the boundary is unknown territory. You are content with the now. You look at the window at the howling storm, the wind, the rain, you turn back into your living room and embrace the warmth from your fireplace.
To seek discomfort is to push the boundaries of your current accepted limits, to push beyond the physical and mental limits you or the world has placed upon you. Passing the boundary is where growth happens, it is where you explore the unknown and really see where you limits are. It is aiming for that next goal, it is pushing to accomplish new victories on the path, it is achieving the incredible things you would have chosen not to do. By continuously pushing past your limits and exploring the unknown, you learn, you become a little bit better, you adapt. With each time you try your hand at something new, add more weight, increase the distance, up your pace, pick up that next book you are choosing to seek discomfort. You are choosing to grow.
With each new foray into the unknown, to accept discomfort you take on the risks to challenge yourself to do more, do better, learn more to relish in the discomfort. Then then the limits of your comfort grow a little more. That 5k run you were stuck on suddenly isn’t as challenging, that 100kg deadlift isn’t making you break a sweat, Nietzsche’s rambling begins to make sense. Hell, even taking that first step out of the house. By seeking discomfort you are accepting the challenge to try something new. You get comfortable with discomfort.
In my own experiences, I used to convince myself that I wasn’t built for lifting weights, for years I would be stuck at the same weights. It wasn’t until I pushed myself that little bit more to up the weights, to increase the intensity, to add the extra calories. Then the strength started building, and I found myself increasing the weights I was lifting to limits I didn’t think was possible. Now I know it is possible and I keep going. In boxing, with each relentless session my stamina, strength, and fortitude increased. The hardest battle I had was pushing my mind to keep going, my mind would keep telling me to stop but my body had plenty of energy. I too was convinced of my limits until I kept surpassing them to my own surprise.
From my own research into the topic there seems to be research which indicates that personal growth is linked to the seeking of discomfort. Research has shown that by pushing yourself into the discomfort, certain parts of your brain change and increases in size with each victory. But this region of the brain the anterior midcingulate cortex is the driving seat in getting you to push yourself further and further as the hub for motivation.
I try to aim for discomfort everyday, my usual go-to is my daily resistance band stretches as soon as I wake up in the morning. I don’t want to do them, I’d rather spend 10 minutes in bed but everyday I get up and do them. With each session the annoyance of doing them lessens and I feel more ready to tackle the challenges of the day.
When we feel uncomfortable we have hit the boundary, it is up to you to keep pushing and with each step in the unknown you grow. With each step you are building a stronger foundation for success. Keep going.
See you soon
Faz