Change is hard.
It’s unknown, it’s unpredictable, it’s novel.
Yet as human beings we were built to grow.
Our ancestors had to grow and adapt in their environments.
They had to learn and apply the skills to stay alive.
Why then does change feel so challenging to us?
Our ancient brain was also built for one reason.
Survival.
But there is a juxtaposition here.
We need change to grow and to thrive.
Yet our brain wants to constantly keep us safe.
Change and challenge therefore, feel so uncomfortable.
Much of this comes from the modern life and society we’re living in.
It is a million miles away from what our old brains could have anticipated and furthermore were even built for.
We now find ourselves surrounded with abundance and near limited options.
Convenience feels like our ally yet in reality it’s our enemy.
Comfort is all around us.
We are sold it 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.
Use this, buy that, outsource the other. In other words, make things as easy as possible for yourself.
That’s the good life, right?
We have become so sold on this we even believe it to be true.
It’s not.
Having a life of comfort, avoiding change and challenge is dangerous and damaging.
It restricts not only all our growth and development, but nulls our desire to even want to in the first place.
Because the need to evolve and adapt has all but been stripped away in this world we currently live in.
No fight required, no change necessary.
But there is no such thing as a free lunch, they say.
It has resulted in obesity, addiction, disease, suicide, like never seen before.
Anxiety and depression rates sky high.
Cries of a lack of purpose echoing from every corner.
All forming an epidemic of the very worst kind.
On a scale that a Covid-19 could never touch.
We must pay attention to our society of comfort and what it wants from us.
A place where boredom is seen as a problem and something to be avoided at all costs.
Because it feels an inconvenience, unnecessary, even painful.
It wasn’t before, boredom was perfectly fine. After all it’s where the brain does it’s best thinking and is most creative.
But not now.
It feels hard and annoying, so we distract ourselves immediately.
We are dumbing down our brains, and the saddest part is we don’t realise it.
Centuries before, people were forced to do hard things, be uncomfortable and live in uncertainty.
Being in the unknown, learning constantly, being bored, protecting their communities, taking risks, pushing themselves physically.
Thriving in the daily challenges.
They were forced to learn, to adapt, to grow, yet these were the very things that brought out the best in them.
Disease, depression, despair all non existent.
People were content and well.
We are fortunate that for most of us we don’t have to live in complete uncertainty on a daily basis.
That we have most things taken care of and everything that we need available.
But we mustn’t fall back and depend on this.
We must break free from comfort and ease which is promoted all around us.
So many people are now facing the above conditions.
They aren’t forced or even encouraged to do harder things.
To strive further out of their comfort zone. To become more comfortable being uncomfortable.
These are at the heart of the epidemic.
Don’t be deluded, manipulated or deceived into thinking we or life should be remain comfortable.
That boredom and uncertainty should not be embraced.
That technology should do all the work for us.
That we should pay someone else to get things we don’t like done.
That our phone and social media are making us smarter.
That we should have our food delivered rather than picking it up - dare I say make it ourselves!
Add yours to the list.
These are lies.
Lies that make a lot of money.
If we want to live well and achieve in our life we cannot conform to what our current society and its marketing desire for us.
Learn something from our ancestors.
Get a little uncomfortable again.
Do hard things again.
Do it yourself and for yourself.
If something seems too easy, it most likely is.
Just like if something seems too good to be true, it most likely is.
Break free from the comfort crisis.
Just because everyone around us is doing something doesn’t mean we should follow suit.
Otherwise the coincidences will follow.
Our health, our success, our meaning will suffer gravely.
These can only be grown if we ourselves are growing, and we cannot grow if we remain comfortable.
If something in life feels uncertain, challenging or hard it’s no cause for concern.
It likely shows you’re on the right path.
Things I’m learning
The Affect Heuristic.
The affect heuristic influences our decisions by causing us to focus on how we feel rather than carefully what we know. We rely on emotions rather than concrete information. This can have various consequences, shaping not only our daily decisions but also skewing how we evaluate the risks and benefits of a given choice in moments of uncertainty.
Values over moods.
“A mark of emotional intelligence is prioritising your values over your mood. Immature people are victims of their feelings. Their choices are governed by fleeting sensations.
Mature people take responsibility for their reactions. Their choices are guided by lasting principles.” - Adam Grant
Staying out the fight.
“I’m at the stage of my life where I stay out of arguments. Even if you say 1 + 1 = 5, you’re right. Have fun.” - Keanu Reeves
Question
Who are you trying to impress that doesn’t matter? Who are the people who deserve you trying to impress?
Thank you for reading.
Until next time.
Nick. x