Why You Should Embrace Discomfort

How often do you take the path of most resistance and voluntarily do something that is uncomfortable?

Many people make the mistake of thinking that more comfort is the key to more happiness. The problem with this mindset is that you don’t grow when you are comfortable. You only grow when you are uncomfortable.

In this article, you will learn why you should embrace discomfort. You will also learn a practical way to get started. Let’s begin with an amazing story.

The amazing story of David Goggins

David Goggins grew up in an abusive household where he, his brother, and his mother were physically and emotionally abused by David’s father. When he was eight, David and his mother left his father to start a new life. However, major damage had already been done, and more hardships were on the way.

At an age when most kids are just having fun, David was suffering from toxic stress. This led to an uncontrollable stutter and severe social anxiety, among other problems.

It did not help that he was black and living in an area where the Ku Klux Klan had a strong presence. His days and nights were filled with racist slurs and threats.

Embarrassed about his learning challenges, he survived by cheating, but it eventually caught up with him. He found himself on the verge of not graduating high school.

During his senior year, he got motivated with a dream to join the Air Force. He focused strictly on working out, playing basketball, and studying. In a six-month period, he went from having a fourth-grade reading level to that of a senior in high school. He eventually enlisted in the Air Force.

However, his struggles were not over. Four years later, he found himself discharged from the Air Force, nearly 300 pounds, and working a graveyard shift as an exterminator. “I was a would-be warrior turned cockroach sniper on the graveyard shift. Just another zombie selling his time on earth, going through the motions,” he writes in his riveting memoir titled Can’t Hurt Me; Master Your Mind And Defy The Odds.

How an obese exterminator became a Navy SEAL

Few people, including David, would have predicted then (or earlier in his life) that he would eventually become the icon that he is today. He became the only person to ever finish elite training as a Navy SEAL, U.S. Army Ranger, and Air Force tactical controller. Outside of his distinguished military career, he has also completed more than 60 ultra-marathons, triathlons, and ultra-triathlons.

Unlike most endurance athletes, he doesn’t just run, bike, and swim though. He has also set a Guinness world record by completing 4,030 pull-ups in seventeen hours. That’s not a typo.

So, how did this man go from a depressed, obese exterminator to a relentless, world-class warrior?

He embraced discomfort and put himself through extreme mental toughness training. He “callused” his mind by stepping out of his comfort zone repeatedly. It started with a short run, and it ramped up quickly from there. (Check out his incredible book for the full story.)

He pushed himself beyond his limits over and over and over. Rather than feel sorry for himself and his past, he used pain to his advantage. He embraced discomfort and used it as a vehicle to get stronger- physically and mentally.

“Doing things- even small things- that make you uncomfortable will help make you strong. The more often you get uncomfortable the stronger you’ll become,” he writes in Can’t Hurt Me.

Life lessons from David Goggins

Regardless of your situation and your aspirations, there are many powerful life lessons from the incredible story of David Goggins. One of the main ones is that toughness is developed. It is not inborn.

Your current level of toughness is not due to your genetics. It is the result of your past decisions and actions. Your future level of toughness will be the result of your decisions and actions from this day forward.

Few people want to do the training required to become a Navy SEAL or an ultra-marathoner. That’s completely fine. The problem is that many people move too far in the opposite direction. Too much comfort is a recipe for becoming weak- physically and mentally.

Every decision and action moves you closer to or further from becoming your strongest self. Goggins believes that most of us only tap into 40% of our true capabilities. He calls this the 40% Rule.

There is one reason why he has maximized much more (if not all) of his potential since his days as an exterminator. He has repeatedly embraced discomfort and chosen the path of most resistance.

Without knowing his story, most people would look at his achievements and assume he was born with super-human strength, discipline, and mental toughness. In reality, he trained himself to become a warrior.

How to improve your mental toughness

You can’t just visualize or pep-talk your way into becoming tougher. There are no shortcuts.

The only way to become tougher is to embrace discomfort. Get out of your comfort zone more often. Here is one practical way to get started. Walk through a typical day in your life, and identify at least one new way to make each day a bit less comfortable. This behavior need not be big or time-consuming. Here are five potential examples:

• Get up 15 minutes earlier than usual
• Drink your coffee black (instead of with sugar or cream)
• Do an exercise that you dislike (instead of only doing those that you enjoy)
• Start or end each shower with ice cold water (instead of only using hot water)
• Eat or drink a healthy product that tastes terrible (instead of only consuming things that taste great)

The goal is to train your mind not to run away from discomfort, but to actually embrace and even run toward discomfort. As you voluntarily add more discomfort to your life, a few things will happen.

First, you will realize that you can handle much more than you previously thought. You will recognize that many of the limits that you had placed on yourself were artificial. You will also notice that many things are not as bad as you had made them out to be.

Secondly, your comfort zone will expand. You will start taking on more challenges and bigger challenges. You will also approach these pursuits with more enthusiasm and confidence, which will make you more likely to succeed, too.

Lastly, you might even start to enjoy and look forward to something that was previously uncomfortable. That will be your cue to step out of your comfort zone again and add on another uncomfortable behavior.

Why put yourself through voluntary discomfort?

No matter who you are or what you want to achieve, you will face unpleasant or painful situations that will test your resilience and mental toughness. If you aren’t actively training yourself to be ready for these situations, you will be more likely to give up too easily or buckle under pressure.

Or, even worse, you might not even put yourself into a difficult, but worthwhile situation in the first place. By training yourself to be mentally tough, you will be ready when inevitable challenges arise.

To be clear, you can form stronger habits even if you do not embrace discomfort. For example, if you want to get healthier, you don’t need to force yourself to endure tedious exercise or unappetizing foods. You could get healthier by focusing on exercises and foods that you enjoy.

Voluntary discomfort is pursued for a different purpose. It’s not done to make you healthier, although that is often a side effect. Voluntary discomfort is pursued as a way to get tougher. The only way to become tougher is by doing things that are not easy or enjoyable.

Summary and final thoughts

David Goggins overcame physical abuse, poverty, and prejudice to become a warrior. He transformed himself from a depressed, obese exterminator into a U.S. Armed Forces icon and a world-class athlete.

Toughness is not inborn. It’s developed (or not developed) through your habits. You become what you repeat.

If you want to take your career and life to a higher level, look for some ways to make your life less comfortable. Embrace discomfort and take the path of most resistance. It won’t be easy, but it will be worth it.

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About the author: Pete Leibman is the Creator of StrongerHabits.com. He is a best-selling author, keynote speaker, executive recruiter, athlete, and peak performance coach. His work has been featured on Fox News, CBS Radio, and CNNMoney.com, and over 500,000 people across the world have read his articles.