Finding tranquility or at least some sense of calm and control in the midst of discomfort is a powerful feeling. We are inundated with comfort in our modern lives. Climate controlled environments, a constant drip of entertainment from our devices, cars that double as recliner sofas and so on.
Advancements in technology are great in that they allow us to accomplish more with our lives and remove barriers to us achieving our goals while leaving us more time to spend with our loved ones. They also undeniably rob us of certain challenges and experiences that our species has always faced.
We cannot know comfort if we never experience discomfort. Moreover the magnitude of our appreciation for the basics in our life (what I might define as your level of joy) is often directly correlated with how much discomfort you encounter on a regular basis.
Just as hunger is the best seasoning, discomfort can bring gratitude to one’s life like nothing else.
Slowing Down for Gratitude
As an exercise, sit still and take 5 slow breaths in and out of your nose.
When you’re done with your breaths, ask yourself how grateful were you for the ability to breath in and out of your nose? Or just for those breaths in general? If you experienced gratitude, that’s a pretty incredible thing.
While those might seem like ridiculous questions, think back to the last time you were sick with a runny nose or a rough head cold. Think about how stuffed up your nose was and how impossible it was to breath through it. If you’re like me, having to mouth breath for an extended amount of time was frustrating to no end and likely was somewhat anxiety provoking.
If you’re like me, you also were so happy when you could finally breathe through your nose again. Such a mundane thing that often we can only appreciate it when it’s gone. But this applies to anything in our life. So while appreciating a well-working nose might be a silly example, we become accustomed to what’s in our life and start to take it for granted and I think we all could be a little more grateful for both the mundane and extraordinary aspects of our life.
I believe discomfort, especially in controlled, strategic doses is one of the things that allows for full appreciation of how beautiful and easy our lives are.
Commuting with a walk will help you appreciate the speed and convenience of your car. Spending time outside will help you notice and appreciate climate control instead of taking it for granted. Working hard makes relaxation feel like an earned reward without feeling like you need to be productive instead.
Eventually, you will learn to appreciate these things without the discomfort. It’s not that the discomfort lost its value, it’s instead that you now have more gratitude.
Ideas for Strategic Doses of Discomfort
If we agree that getting uncomfortable regularly will help you learn to find joy and appreciation in what you already have, let’s talk about a few ways to get discrete and appropriate doses of discomfort in our lives.
Exercise
This is a no brainer, especially coming from me. For the purposes of discomfort, I think basically everything exercise related works just fine here. The main thing is getting enough but not too much. Think of exercise like a campfire. You want to be close enough for it to be useful. It warms you up and lets you cook with it, but you don’t want to get so close that you get burned.
Rucking
We’ve mentioned rucking a few times for its physical benefits but one of my favorite things about it is that it can be uncomfortable and is probably my favorite way of adding very appropriate amounts of discomfort into my day.
Challenges and Goals
Challenging yourself to new things can also be a phenomenal way of making yourself uncomfortable. Learning new skills and practicing new activities or sports is a great way to work on your adaptability while also getting you out of your comfort zone. When you eventually get back to your comfort zone or expand your existing one, the reward is much greater than if you had stayed there the whole time.
Conclusion
Ask yourself when the last time you were truly uncomfortable was. Come up with a real answer. I would challenge you to get uncomfortable a few times a week in a safe way and get back to me with how it shifts your outlook.