When I wake up, I pour boiling water over my head.

I feel the scalding heat down my back, drip by drip.

It makes me tough. Strong. 

Crazy!

Who am I kidding? 

I'm not crazy. I don't pour boiling water over my head.

Instead, I do a few critical things that prime me for the day and don't include second-degree burns.

They'll benefit you too.

Push your most important goals, projects, and priorities forward.

Every morning I spend an hour writing.

It happens after I wake up (obviously), journal, meditate, and workout.

The. Brutal. Task. Of. Writing. Every. Morning.

It was hard in the beginning.

The lessons we learn in life are from experiences, both good and bad.

When I begin to write about these lessons, both in my journal and in writing, the things I love, the things that hurt, what I DISLIKE and LOVE, the real miracle happens.

It's a therapy session that allows me to get deeper in my mind. It's apart of what Michael Hyatt calls, mentally FFIT.

• Frequent.

• Focused.

• Intentional.

• Thinking.

Writing is a skill I want to continue to develop. It's been fundamental in every aspect of my life.

For you, it may be something else. 

It's usually something that will have a significant impact on your life and be difficult to get started on.

Get a little uncomfortable.

Everyone wants their rosey life, soft mattress, comfortable car, and easy J-O-B.

But what do these things do for us besides make us complacent? Weak. 

I meditate, exercise, and stretch every morning.

You might think, you dope, this isn't hard, but you're wrong.

I'm extremely ADD. My mind races like the Grand Prix (whatever that is).

I'm constantly going.

To quiet my mind takes practice and patience.

It's hard. 

Really hard.

So are my exercises. I'm not doing pilates. 

I'm stretching my mind and body when I exercise.

It's tough. My muscles are burning. Sweat is dripping off my elbows. I can barely catch my breath.

Some days I want to quiet. 

When I tell myself don't be a b$%#!, I jolt my conscious and excuses and keep pushing forward.

The next thing I do is take a take two cold showers (once when I wake up and once when I get ready for the day).

Every morning. Even on the beloved weekend.

I rarely use warm water. 

I step right into the cold.

My life doesn't always need to be "comfortable."

Here's why.

When you're uncomfortable, it builds mental strength.

It's easy to say, I don't like this, so I'm not going to do it.

Like Rosa Parks said,

"I have learned over the years that when one's mind is made up, this diminishes fear."

There's going to be things in your life you don't like doing, and you're going to have to suck-it-up.

When you start your day doing something uncomfortable, it builds mental strength.

It tells you, I don't like this but it's not the end of the world.

I'll survive.

There's always a lesson in being uncomfortable.

For my cold shower, the lesson is, life isn't always going to be warm and cozy.

That's all right. Nor should it be.

There's plenty of health benefits of a cold shower. The best one is the feeling of being awake and refreshed.

How you choose to be uncomfortable every morning is up to you. I've chosen mine. It'll change over time. Or not. Who knows.

You could ask the barista for a discount every morning when you order coffee.

The lesson being to develop your negotiation skills and to get past the feeling of - well, this is awkward.

An important life skill.

When you get uncomfortable you develop a callus on the weak portions of your brain.

You're building mental strength.

Being uncomfortable prepares you for adversity.

Life isn't always easy. It doesn't always go our way. It'll throw you problems just to watch you squirm.

It'll chew you up and spit you out.

What does it care? Life will keep moving forward whether you're in it or not.

If you lock yourself away from difficult situations, pain, anger, sadness, embarrassment, you're not living in reality.

They're tough moments. They're hard to deal with. They're ugly and difficult.

But each problem has a lesson.

You can be the victim or you can be the life student.

Getting uncomfortable every day builds mental strength. It prepares you for adversity.

You'll survive.

Are you still breathing?

What if you asked the barista at your favorite coffee shop for a discount?

You might find it embarrassing, but guess what, you're still alive.

This is true for most uncomfortable situations. 

It wasn't fun while it was happening, but when it's all over, you're still alive.