We all know what comfort feels like. It’s that extra 5 minutes in bed you squeeze in after you’ve hit the snooze button for the 3rd time. It’s sitting on the couch after a hard day of work, watching your favourite show, and ordering in your over-priced, calorically dense dinner for the 3rd time this week. It’s repeatedly complaining about the job you hate but not doing anything about it because it’s easier to do the job you already know how to do. It’s hating what you look like in the mirror on a daily basis but continue to live the same way.
Comfort feels amazing because it’s easy. It’s easy to order. It’s easy to sit on the couch and watch Netflix after work. It’s easy to sleep in. However, that euphoric, dopamine-filled rush that comforts pumps through our veins is exactly what’s preventing us from improving our lives.
It’s hard to quit the job you hate because it’s stable and safe. You know how much income is coming in and when it’s going to be there. Sometimes it’s hard to cook a healthier, cost friendlier meal after a hard day of work. Sometimes it’s hard to get up earlier in the morning to go to a fitness class or hit the gym. It’s hard because it’s new. It’s hard because new is difficult. It’s hard because difficult sometimes hurts.
Tibetan Monks have a saying “Life in pain”. This pain is what I’m speaking about. The pain of growth. In order it lives the life we desire; we must grow through pain to flourish. No pain, no reward.
The truth of the matter is the uncomfortable, difficult and sometimes painful feeling is exactly what we need to succeed and grow. That’s the magic ingredient to success in any area of our lives.
Most of us know how to ride a bike but it took practice. It took a few good falls, some blood, and maybe a broken bone or two to get the hang of things. It was difficult and painful. However, now we can ride a bike without thinking about it. This is the reward we get for enduring the pain of learning and growing.
Tibetan Monks have a saying “Life in pain”. This pain is what I’m speaking about. The pain of growth. In order it lives the life we desire; we must grow through pain to flourish. No pain, no reward.
This means if you want to change your body, you must go through the pain of not hitting the snooze butting in the morning. You must feel the lava-like burning sensation in your muscles as you work out. This requires the pain of prepping your food for the next day before you go to bed so have proper nutrition for the next day. This requires deleting any food ordering apps from your phone and learning new habits just like you’ve learned how to ride a bike.
Will you fail a few times, absolutely? Just like how you fell off that bicycle but with time, it will continue to become easier until it’s your new comfortable position. You think the feeling of comfort feels amazing, try the feeling of reward when you hit a goal you’ve been painfully working towards. That rush is one hundred times more powerful.
Time to decide. To challenge yourself and grow or to continue to live the same way until the end of your days. Let the pain of growth begin.
Photo By: Sean Davidoff
