We can’t grow when we’re comfortable. The best we can hope for is pain-free stagnation.
Goals status:
- Marathon: On Track. This morning will be the last run before my 5K race on Saturday.
- Two Square Yards of Earth: Making Progress. I should finish Chapter 4 this week.
- 100 Posts: On Track. This is my 21st post for the year.
Courage is action in the face of fear. It does not exist without discomfort. And growth does not exist without courage.
Comfort is what we seek to avoid pain. After a hard day, when we’ve spent the whole day running in place as hard as we can and we feel like we have nothing left, we want nothing more than a hot shower, warm covers, a soft couch, a warm meal, a couple of hours of TV. We want to retreat into ourselves and not have to think until it’s time to do it again tomorrow.
We have designed our entire lives around the pursuit of comfort. Every improvement, every tweak, every enhancement is about making life easier, quicker, tastier. More comfortable.
It’s not that comfort is bad. I enjoy being comfortable as much as anybody. Air conditioning, heated seats, escalators, restaurants–they all have their place in making life better.
But we can’t grow when we’re comfortable. It’s only by stretching ourselves beyond comfort that we can grow.
We have to stop complaining about our jobs–and start figuring out how to make our lives more meaningful.
We have to stop whining about how our country is going to hell in a handcart–and start working to make our communities better.
We have to stop wringing our hands over how we look in the mirror–and start learning how to become healthier.
We have to stop looking at pictures of the mountain on the Internet–and start making a plan to climb it.
Moving past complaining, embracing the painful action that will lead to growth, is hard. It may be one of the hardest things most of us have ever done. It will require work, and patience, and courage.
And it beats the hell out of sitting on the couch in comfortable stagnation.
I don’t want pain for you. But I do want growth. I do want courage.
So I’m going to work to challenge you. I’m going to help you find a path to a better you, or to a different blog you find more comfortable.
I’m not here to make you comfortable. I’m here to help you make yourself better.