“Before anything great is really achieved, your comfort zone must be disturbed.” ~Ray Lewis
Comfort is killing us.
We live in a world where the slightest inconveniences can be resolved with the tap of a button or banished with the quick swipe of a credit card – endless entertainment, same-day shipping, meal delivery, and abundant access to sugary foods, hard-hitting drugs, and porn provide us with a never-ending source of unearned dopamine.
The problem modern men face is not that these comforts or vices exist. But rather that our lives are engineered in such a way that discomfort can be largely avoided inside of our daily realities.
There’s nothing wrong with hot water, air conditioning, Amazon Prime, or social media. But when a man becomes too comfortable and when there are no immediate consequences for his unending pursuit of comfort, he begins to lose his edge.
As a society, we seem to have forgotten that this existence isn’t supposed to be easy. That discomfort and pain are a necessary and essential part of a rich and fully lived life.
We’ve become strangers to challenge and see anything that requires effort or sacrifice as an inconvenience we should be able to brush away with a single click.
But the truth is, everything worth doing in life is uncomfortable. It’s the adversity and discomfort that makes journeys worth pursuing. Because that discomfort leads to growth. It makes us better. Stronger. And more powerful.
How many men you admire have pursued a life of comfort? How many of them sat on the sidelines, Bud Light in hand, watching an endless stream of Netflix originals and doing only that which was easy?
None!
The men we respect and attempt to emulate are the men who are willing to do the hard things. The reason we admire successful entrepreneurs, world-class athletes, best-selling authors, and adventurers is because they were willing to suffer and accept the discomfort required to fulfill their dreams.
This is true for them and it’s true for you.
It’s uncomfortable to face rejection on your journey to an abundant dating life and finding the woman of your dreams. It’s uncomfortable to develop the characteristics and traits needed to build a successful business or create a thriving career doing what you love. It’s uncomfortable to build a resilient body and do the hard work required to live a long and healthy life.
But it’s also worth it.
If you feel like the fire in your belly has died and the spark in your soul has been extinguished, start by embracing the discomfort of new journeys.
This doesn’t mean that you need to train jujitsu or run a marathon or take cold showers every day of the year–although these are all great options.
It simply means that you must begin to inoculate yourself against the curse of comfort by regularly doing the hard things required to realize your potential.
Check out the rest of the article at Knowledge for Men