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LIKE ANY ADDICTION, COMFORT REQUIRES PAIN TO BREAK

Last week, I was talking with someone about my self-development routines. I explained to them how I wake up at 5.30am every morning, workout, meditate, journal, and then get to work . I also told them how I try to run at least 3 miles every other day, rain or shine. My friend grimaced and said, “You must be addicted to pain!” It wasn’t the first time I had heard an opinion similar to this.  It always puzzled me to hear it.  Isn’t strange how one person’s journey and habits to improve their mind and body can be so abhorrent to another. Has anyone ever said that to you since starting your self-development journey? Or perhaps you’ve even thought that about someone else? I started thinking about what that person said. Although I’ve heard it before, for some reason it started my mind moving. Am I really trying to just make things difficult or more arduous for myself? After a while I began to think about why a person would make that statement. I suppose I could look at other’s habits and maybe say the same.  

THE COMFORT ADDICTION

There is a challenge for the doubters and the people who don’t understand why others willingly push themselves into the uncomfort zone. Think of people like David Goggins, sometimes called ‘the hardest man alive’, who pushed himself through ultramarathons. Events where people have died! He’d do things like compression tape his ankles and ignore the excruciating pain of stress fractures. That is extreme in anyone’s judgement! People to give up their comfort addiction and go through pain understand there’s something far greater that awaits them on the other side. It doesn’t have to be running races with painful stress fractures in your ankles. It can be as simple a just getting up an hour early in the morning — if that pushes you out of your comfort zone. Seth Godin writes: “Discomfort brings engagement and change. Discomfort means you’re doing something that others were unlikely to do, because they are hiding out in the comfort zone. When you’re uncomfortable, action leads to success.”  

 

WHY USE PAIN AS A MOTIVATOR

Too many people plod along, comfortable, stuck in their ruts. What they fail to see is that discomfort, or pain,  is often the only thing that will break them free from self limiting habits and attitudes. Without pain, you will never understand that pushing yourself through something like taking cold showers for a month leads to a state where cold feels comfortable, even pleasurable. (This is not personal example, but from an acquaintance!) When you push yourself out of comfort, you become stronger than ever.  Every morning you feel like you’ve had a double dose of dopamine and adrenaline.  You are energized and motivated for whatever the days throws you. Without discomfort, you will never understand that forcing yourself out of bed at 5.30am on a the chilly morning eventually leads to a new-found zest for life. A point where you wake up naturally at 5.29am and turn off the alarm before it starts, feeling fresh and rested. It is a tremendous state of satisfaction knowing you’re ahead of the game before most people even open their eyes.  You’re getting stuff done while everybody sleeps. You’re going to bed and resting while others sit up late, mindlessly scrolling on their iPhones or watching Netflix.  

BENEFITS OF DISCOMFORT

It sounds strange, but you gain a lot when you intentionally get out of your comfort zone.  Some of the benefits I’ve found include: Great focus – being able to meditate.  I can calm all the random thoughts running through my head.  It allows me to experience a calm and peaceful mind. Great motivation – the coming day doesn’t create anxiety.  If I know I can push through discomfort in the past, then the day doesn’t dog me.  I know that whatever is coming I can handle it. Great growth – All growth starts with pain.  Whether it is the pain of being stuck in one place or state or the pain of taking on something new.  You can’t really grow without some discomfort.   Are you ready to grow, to be more focused and energize.  Decide today that you will break your comfort addiction.  Try a little discomfort.  Push through it and you will be amazed at how good you feel!    

    8 replies to "The Cozy Comfort Addiction"

    • self-development1985
    • self-development1985

      Link to challenges can be [found here](http://www.30figured.com/category/challenges/).

    • TiredSweetPotato

      What if I’m always feeling miserable because I feel like I’m constantly pushing myself outside of my comfort zone and it exhausts me?

      • self-development1985

        There has to be some moderation. I’m guilty of this occasionally, so you just have to give yourself some time to recharge and slow things down a little. I guess it’s about balance and joy – not self -punishment

        • TiredSweetPotato

          Oh, I think this is just an internal problem then, meaning I feel uncomfortable in situations where I should be comfortable, because I have trouble balancing the basics so I would say I don’t do things enough, so I should work on my attitude.

          • self-development1985

            I think it’s good to push yourself out of your comfort zone but take small steps to avoid burnout. Award yourself for what others may perceive as small achievements but to you took a lot of courage and determination. Speaking in front of 5000 may be a challenge for one person. Yet speaking in front of a small group may equally be a challenge for another. The fact is both people had to push themselves equally and should award themselves equally. Good luck!

            • TiredSweetPotato

              Thanks!! That’s a nice way to look at it.

    • airjones1

      Well there’s a certain amount of pain in being comfortable that you just get used to and your not addicted to pain when you improve yourself you just go through the “pain period” when you first learn something new.

      When I was fat girls didn’t approach me, my feet hurt from physical activity, I couldn’t shop at places like H & M because my waist was to big, and I didnt want to take my shirt off because I hated the way my body looked. I was in pain I just got used to it or comfortable.

      When I tried to change it was painful and time consuming. Waking up everyday to get on a bike for a hour long cycling class. Not being able to breath and being out of breath minutes into an exercise. It sucked ass honestly. I kept pushing through it just knowing I had a goal in mind of what I wanted to look like and what I wanted to accomplish.

      Year and half later after I lost the fat and picked up weightlifting going through the same pain of teaching my body something different. My body and mind had changed. I was buff for the first time in my life and I loved exercise. I couldn’t live without it now and the feeling of hitting a PR on a exercise or moving up in weight feels like what it use to feel like to eat a half dozen sprinkle donuts felt like back than. I had a married woman hit on me in the gym and tell me her husband wasn’t home and I could come over. Woman and guys directly complimenting my physique and asking if I would work out with them. The feeling of pride when saw someone that I haven’t seen me in a while looks in awe and ask me what I did to make such a drastic change. I can shop at H & M and dont have to order pants online. Its not painful once you get used to and get to your goals.

      I picked up a few habits that were really hard and cost my pain at first but now bring me so much joy and happiness in my life things like weightlifting, Nofap, not smoking, cleaning up, improving my study habits, reading, and improving my social skills. These things all cost me a great deal of pain but if I had to do it all over again, I just would of done them sooner.

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