Seeking Discomfort
đź’ˇ Goal: Push your limits by stepping into uncomfortable situations on purpose.
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Why It Matters
When you are feeling comfortable, worry.
I am not talking about the moments when you are in a state flow and time disappears and you are at the height of your current abilities.
I am talking about the moments where you look around and feel pretty good about everything.
Complacency is the enemy of growth.
You can easily be lulled you into a kind of sleepwalking where ambition fades away and the willingness to push your limits is all but gone.
Life is growth.
Growth does not come from comfort. Growth is born from uncertainty and discomfort.
Every great work is born from struggle.
Every epic story has trials filled with danger and chaos.
The Resistor
The Delicate Balance 🤔
If you are in a place where you feel like you have control, remember this is an illusion.
The more comfortable you can become with being uncomfortable, the better chance you have for continuous growth.
There is a danger zone though. Push too far outside of what you are capable of and you will retreat and never try again.
Like most things you will need to find the balance.
Start slow. Build up.
But do not stay in the same place.
A Signal Path
Mind Over Matter
Known as "The Iceman", Wim Hof has spent a lifetime developing a unique approach to personal growth and self-improvement centered around embracing discomfort.
He climbed Mount Kilimanjaro in shorts, ran a half marathon above the Arctic Circle barefoot, and stood in a container while covered with ice cubes for more than 112 minutes.
To accomplish these things his has developed something called the Wim Hof Method.
His ideas combines breathwork, cold exposure, and training your mind to push beyond what you imagine is possible.
The breathwork component of the Wim Hof Method involves a series of deep, forceful inhalations and exhalations. These are designed to increase oxygen levels in your body and create a state of heightened awareness and mental clarity.
However, the true power of the Wim Hof Method lies in its ability to transform one's mindset. By seeking discomfort and pushing past your perceived limits, your can learn to develop a greater sense of resilience and self-control.
How can you leverage techniques like these to overcome your creative challenges?
Three Cats
âś… Idea: Explore the murky depths
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🔺 Process: Change the energy into a more useful form
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🔹 Result: The only thing that can break you is you
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Switch to Action
"The beginning is always today."
— Mary Shelley
Do something uncomfortable.
Find a quiet place to write for 10 minutes.
List as many ideas as you can for stepping outside your comfort zone in different areas of your life (physical, mental, emotional, social, spiritual, etc). These can be small steps or bigger challenges. The key is that they make you feel uncomfortable or uncertain in a way that could spur growth.
For example:
- Take a cold shower each morning for a week
- Eat a new food you've been nervous to try
- Talk to a stranger
- Learn a difficult new instrument
- Travel somewhere unfamiliar
Let your mind wander. Don't censor yourself - write down every idea that comes to mind for getting uncomfortable, no matter how extreme or minor it may seem.
Keep writing constantly for the full 10 minutes.
When the 10 minutes is up, stop writing. Look back over your list and circle 3-5 of the ideas that seem most compelling or valuable to you right now.
Commit to taking action on one of the circled ideas within the next week as a first step in seeking discomfort for growth.
Go Deeper
​Try the Wim Hof breathing technique.​
3 Books I like on this idea:
- ​What Doesn't Kill Us: How Freezing Water, Extreme Altitude, and Environmental Conditioning Will Renew Our Lost Evolutionary Strength by Scott Carney​
- ​The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter​
- ​​The Odyssey ​​by Homer (Author), Robert Fagles (Translator)
Looking for other ways to seek discomfort? Try the Resiliter Creative Cards