#238 Are You Always Seeking Comfort?

What Happens When You Seek Comfort?

I was listening to Steelers Head Coach, Mike Tomlin, on The Pivot podcast recently. Whether you’re a Steelers fan or not, this interview was filled with knowledge bombs.

One of the topics that Mike revisited multiple times was the idea of Seeking Comfort. He was basically saying that seeking comfort was where your success can start to go downhill.

It’s Just Like Rocky

We’ve all seen Rocky, right?

Rocky was training in the grimiest conditions when he was winning. Then, when he moved to the mansion, everything started to change. He got too comfortable. 

Think about when he fought Drago in Russia. Doesn’t get much more uncomfortable than that, right?

Michael Easter also talks about this at length in his book, The Comfort Crisis. Modern day life has made things way too easy and convenient. We can get food delivered with a few taps on our phone, we can veg out on the couch in a temperature-controlled room, and we be entertained for hours on Netflix.

Build a Discomfort Strategy

I encourage you to run towards the discomfort.

Put strategies in place that won’t allow you to get too comfortable. We must fend off the comfortable lifestyle every single day. 

This is part of the reason why I get up at 3:20am Monday through Friday. It’s uncomfortable. I will deliberately eliminate things from my schedule that will cause me to go to bed later. I’m not about to hit that snooze button.

I choose to do difficult workouts. I choose to engage in some of the most difficult general physical preparedness and conditioning there is… walking lunges. Choosing discomfort right out the gate primes me for the rest of my day.

We All Have the Choice

I know for a fact I wouldn’t be as inspired if I was getting up at 9:00am versus 3:20am. Getting up at 9:00am isn’t difficult. You don’t have to fight for it. 

Not only would I not be inspired, but I also wouldn’t inspire other people. No one wants to be led by the guy who gets up at 9:00am every day.

Are you going to choose comfort or discomfort? The choice is yours to make.

Success Through Discomfort

Putting yourself through the fire will help you become more resilient.
Putting yourself in uncomfortable, difficult situations will help make you stronger.

Running towards discomfort will help you ultimately succeed.

Fighting through and getting to the other side helps build confidence. And when you do that, you start to understand that there’s zero cap on what’s possible.

Don’t Let Comfort Hold You Back

A body at rest stays at rest. A body in motion stays in motion. Don’t shut it down.

Stay moving, stay active, and keep pushing to forge a better version of yourself. I'm always failing, succeeding, executing, and testing things out. I’m in it. Doing so keeps me in the game. 

Don’t let the comforts of modern society hold you back. Don’t fall for the trap.

Identify ways to make yourself more uncomfortable, then build a daily strategy around these items. Getting out of your comfort zone is the best favor you can do for yourself.