What if we were okay being uncomfortable?

What if we were tough enough that we could deal with lack of sleep, sleeping in uncomfortable situations, dealing with thirst and hunger, and with some stress and animosity in our lives?

We love comfort

As humans, we are always trying to optimize life for ease and comfort.

We upgrade our cars, because our old cars aren’t comfortable enough.

We move into a bigger home, because our old home isn’t comfortable enough.

We eat at fancier restaurants and upgrade our lifestyles because our old lifestyle isn’t comfortable enough.

Less comfort, less stress

What if we opted for a simple life, that wasn’t comfortable— yet full of gratitude, happiness, and simplicity?

What if we were satisfied with our simple cars — and knew that it was just a vehicle for us to get from point A to point B?

What if instead of moving to a bigger house, we just learned how to be more effective with the space?

What if instead of eating at fancier restaurants and upgrading our lifestyles, we learned how to be more appreciate of our simple meals and lifestyles?

Comfort weakens us

I also think that if we didn’t worry about comfort in life — we would be a lot stronger.

We would become stronger, both physically and mentally. By not always being comfortable in terms of the weather— our bodies become stronger to withstand the heat and cold.

If we don’t always seek ultimate comfort in terms of hotel, accommodations, planes, and travel — we save a ton of money.

If we don’t seek the ultimate comfort of cars, transportation, our homes, our furniture, or our attire — we learn to appreciate what we have, and not seek to desire to always “upgrade”.

Make yourself tougher

As an experiment, try to not optimize for comfort in your life. Make yourself stronger, and tougher.

A child who is coddled for their entire life will never become stronger. A child who never is allowed to fall, scrape themselves, and hurt themselves— will become weak and puny.

The same thing is with us. We need some stress and physical pain to wake ourselves up, to keep ourselves sharp and fit. We need some hunger to stimulate our appetite, and our physiological responses. We need physical exercise and strain to make our bodies and bones stronger.

As the Roman philosopher Cato once said, “Comfort is the road to waste.”

Be strong,
Eric

Learn how to become stronger in life: Stoic Philosophy >