The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self

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I had just finished that episode ( of the Hidden Brain ). It is essentially discussing the scientific basis for why too much comfort can result in unhappiness and why a certain amount of discomfort can result in happiness. And if you think about the evolutionary reason for this it becomes apparent ( you have to remember that we evolved in an emvironment where food was always in short supply). Reply These things are not speculative pieces of alternative medicine. They are known, easily and reproducibly tested, and proven to be the most effective things we can possibly do with our time. One peculiar trend I’ve noticed a lot lately is how many people rely upon some chemical, whether an anxiolytic, wine, or weed, to deal with their anxiety. While I opt to run, hike, walk , or sip a hot tea to deal with anxiety or stress, it seems the majority of our population does not, hence our overwhelmingly unhealthy nation. I’m also the person who takes the steps instead of stairs or the elevator, walks when possible instead of driving, saves instead of spends, etc. — and I believe it is these little challenges that add to a greater inner strength. Things that bother others tend not to bother me.

Needing to artificially create challenges for ourselves is necessary, but also a privilege. We all need to be grateful for this privilege and remember it when we are in the dumps over our first-world problems. ReplyI often find myself feeling frustrated and miserable while in ‘the throes” of completing an uncomfortable and challenging task.

On another note, I am proud to report I completed today 5 years of the Maximum Mustache, and I look forward to completing it again after the next post, and each after one after that. Reply For example, I am vegan, and this comes with discomfort. I believe it is a way to make the world better. I will be happy to point out why I think it’s better to change to a vegan lifestyle. Some people though, will say that things are good, or I see things that are minuscule. I don’t see this as part of comfort, but actually people who don’t want to change are in their bubble of conformity. Be hungry more. Distinguish between real and reward hunger. "An average plate could be a quarter animal protein, a quarter whole grains or tubers, and half vegetables or fruit. Highly active people might want to do half whole grains or tubers and a quarter vegetables or fruit." Don't eat 2-3h before going to bed for the full digestion to occur (12-16h) & fat burning throughout the night Another issue : though “suffering” in comfortable situations is ridiculous, being happy even in awful conditions is also odd, a kind of conformism I reject. For example, in my country (Mexico), many people don´t see the ugliness, noise and dirt of their neighborhood, or they perceive it and say “So, what´s the problem?”. That´s another extreme we should avoid. ReplyWhen they ran out of stuff to find they would start looking for a wider range of stuff, even if this was not conscious or intentional, because their job was to look for threats.” This impending voyage into the Arctic is one thing. But I’m also no fan of flying. Particularly when it’s in planes like these: single-engine, two-and four-seater bush craft. Picture empty Campbell’s soup cans with wings. There’s a notion of expending energy for no purpose that makes it very difficult to mentally justify. It’s why stationary bikes are so ineffective; you pedal for miles on all sorts of simulated terrain just to go nowhere. By incorporating the top level parking into your routine, you have now provided a minor reward – that coveted hit of dopamine for exerting the effort. Reply