An entertaining and thought-provoking adventure that weaves together findings from anthropology, physiology, neuroscience, and other disciplines. Easter makes a convincing case that happiness is more than the absence of cold, hunger, and boredom—in fact, a little discomfort may be exactly what we need.” —Alex Hutchinson, New York Times bestselling author of Endure I realized that the alternative was sitting around inside an air conditioned house, getting nothing done. For example, have you ever wondered why the type of bored, rich suburbanites who populate the board of your local Homeowner Association and whine about unacceptably tall weeds or unauthorized skateboarding on Nextdoor are so insufferable? Yikes Aaron, I like the spirit but that sounds like a pretty fuel-intensive way to get in a few flights of stairs!

Having everything ready to be consumed keeps our brain inactive, and makes our body always crave more, as the dopamine secretion diminishes or becomes inexistent as we find our resources available at any given time. Hence, it’s time for a change. The author suggests that a good place to start is by distinguishing craving from real hunger. Are you feeding your body fuel for the day, or simply exciting your taste buds?

I live a comfortable predator-free life here in Colorado (coincidentally, I’m also a Canadian expat computer engineer) and really try not to let the unimportant stuff get to me. It’s not always easy, and some days are just grumpy for stupid reasons (like your road-trip incidents), but I do my best to steer my attitude in a more positive direction. You inspired me to walk up the 22 stories to my former office before my WFH days, on top of biking 12 miles round trip. I read The Comfort Crisis in three straight sittings and was so motivated and inspired that I immediately made changes to my daily routines. Two months later, I’ve never been fitter, more self-confident, or happier. If you’ve been looking for something different to level up your health, fitness, and personal growth, THIS IS IT.” —Melissa Urban, Whole30 CEO and six-time New York Times bestselling author

Rather than letting them derail your grand plan to live out your values and become the person you want to be, you have to master them.Me too, cannot remember the last time I did not take the stairs. Granted, I am an overweight smoker and I need to do a lot more. But every little helps, right? RIGHT? Reply In fact, I’m personally glad that my “new” Tesla is already developing a protective shroud of scratches just like any other MMM vehicle. Otherwise, I’d be afraid to take it anywhere or put anything into it – which would make it the most useless car ever! Teddy Roosevelt put it this way: “Death by violence, death by cold, death by starvation—these are the normal endings of the stately and beautiful creatures of the wilderness. The sentimentalists who prattle about the peaceful life of nature do not realize its utter mercilessness;…life is hard and cruel for all the lower creatures, and for man also in what the sentimentalists call a ‘state of nature.’ ” The state humans lived in for all but the most recent fragment of time.” Boredom is good for us. It forces us to tap into our creativity and look for new pathways. Today's digital menu of smartphones, streaming content, and the internet robs us of those opportunities, and addicts us to attention-grabbing cotton candy for the mind. Easter claims we spend 11 hours per day on digital media, but I've seen 8-9 hours elsewhere. In any case, it's an enormous chunk of our day. One of the best things about a Misogi like this is that it took the author away from all of his content, which forced his brain to adapt and find new ways to combat boredom. In a series of recent interviews, Ukrainian people living in the war zones of their occupied country were asked “is it safe to live where you live?” and a strangely high percentage still said “Yes” – not all that different from the responses of US residents when asked the same question about their own cities.

Did you know in advance this WSJ article was about to be published when you wrote this? It seems we’ve raised an entire generation of young workers that want no stress (anxiety) or challenges at all in their work or personal lives. The best I can say was that some of the information was fine if a bit magazine-lite. But this book was a personal discomfort and endurance challenge (lol) courtesy of the, cue the jingle folks, incessant low-key misogyny! A handful of examples: Camping in Arctic Alaska may not be your idea of a vacation. But as you’ll discover in the next blinks, there are many other, simpler ways to transform your life through discomfort.

Moving your body, even a bit, has enormous benefits – again to almost all people towards reducing the probability and severity of almost all diseases. So can you imagine the benefit of moving your body for several hours per day in a natural environment, and including heavy load bearing and bits of extreme exertion? Even being a fairly active person, it surprised me just how much a few hours of “functional” work (as opposed to “working out”) could have a noticeable positive effect on me.

By doing so, one will discover new emotions and build strength from the core. Studies suggest that going through such experiences can enhance health as well. The key is to find a balance between comfort and challenging situations. If you leave your shelter, you’ll find that life isn’t always pink. You will also learn to appreciate everything you have. Lesson 2: Being by yourself in nature can help you connect with yourself and feel less lonely.Wow, this guy Michael Easter is right on! I agree that in our Western society a lot of us are spoiled and look for trivial things to complain about, and populists take advantage of it. Remember the movie Ferris Bueller’s Day Off? One line I remember in the movie is he said that life goes by fast, and if you don’t stop and look around you might miss it. I’m 62 years old now and find rather than complain about what you don’t have, make the most of what you do have. Also, get your ass out and do things. My age hasn’t stopped me from getting out biking a lot, about 1160 Km this year to date. Neither has it stopped me from trying out fun things like kayaking, flyboarding, wakeboarding, stand up paddleboarding, skiing, and other fun things. Although humans are hardwired to seek comfort, it’s not necessarily good for us. Some anthropologists have speculated that we were actually happier thousands of years ago. Our needs were simpler and easier to satisfy, and we were naturally mindful, living in the moment.