The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self by Michael Easter
Rating: 10/10
Read The Comfort Crisis
My life shattered when I started to read The Comfort Crisis.
Over the years, I've had many feelings and thoughts like:
"I don't feel right being cooped up inside."
"In nature, I'm more present and happy."
"Damn, people are so soft and lazy."
"There's no growth in the comfort zone."
I'd even go as far as to say, in my next life, "I want to be a sustainable farmer" or "live off the land." And yes, my wife looks at me like I'm f'ing nuts.
Something inside me—deep, deep inside me, has been searching, exploring, and testing for better ways to live.
The Comfort Crisis gives you that blueprint, but it's up to you to get off your ass and live.
This book is incredible and, along with Four Thousand Weeks: Time Management for Mortals, is a must-read for the 2020s.
Here are my big takeaways from the book:
Develop a state of okayness.
Ignorance, as it means in Buddhism, refers to a misunderstanding of reality and impermanence.
Americans are often ignorant of their privileged circumstances and fail to recognize how good they have it.
The American Dream often revolves around a checklist of achievements and acquisitions, leading to an unending cycle of desire and dissatisfaction. However, the nature of desire is to continually seek more, even when one's checklist is complete.
But this doesn't just fall squarely on Americans.
It's anybody who chases material possessions and accomplishments without realizing that these pursuits will not lead to genuine happiness.
Research suggests that titles, wealth, and possessions only enhance well-being to the extent that they fulfill basic needs. Having enough money for essential needs can contribute to happiness. Conversely, excessive materialism can paradoxically lead to unhappiness.
The American culture promotes a "grind" and "work harder" mentality, valuing busyness as a way to earn status and satisfaction.
American busyness has increased over time, and it may be a substitute for physically demanding activities—which leads to soft, weak, and lazy humans who try to avoid anything challenging.
Mindfulness and acceptance help individuals transcend the checklist mentality and find contentment.
The Khenpo suggests that regardless of one's social status or circumstances, avoiding attachment to the mind's narratives and accepting the flow of life can lead to a state of okayness and well-being.
Mindfulness of the body and contemplation of death aid in cultivating mindfulness in the Bhutanese culture.
By acknowledging that everyone is subject to mortality and the inevitability of death, individuals can develop a mindful perspective on life and become less fixated on the checklist mentality.
Open conversations about death contribute to a better quality of life for dying patients.
A study conducted in various American hospitals demonstrated that patients who had open discussions about their impending death experienced a higher quality of life in their final weeks and months, as observed by their family members and nurse practitioners.
Move more.
Our overly comfortable chairs, couches, and beds are taking away from what our muscles were designed to do—MOVE.
When muscles aren't used, you lose them. So when we perpetually sit in chairs, on a couch, or lay in bed, the muscles designed to squat and crouch start to become frail and weak.
A simple way to combat this is to do gentle exercises throughout the day, which can occur right before you take your break from your computer every 45-minutes:
Squat, lunge, plank, hinge, hang, twist, carry, and bend.
There are studies that show resting in a squatting or kneeling position over lounging in a chair is more beneficial.
And start to Ruck.
Rucking helps prevent low-back pain by the weight pulling people out of their common slumped-over desk positions—the carrying forces you to stand tall and lock down the muscles that protect the spine.
A simple exercise other than rucking is to carry a weight at one side while walking and keeping your torso vertical.
Stop sleepwalking through life and build meaningful experiences.
Scientists in the UK found that our brain has a trance-like "autopilot" or "sleepwalking" mode where we zone out and live in a state of constant mental chatter, thinking about trivial matters.
This trance-like state of autopilot leads to a life of constant mental chatter and meaningless routine.
As we age, our experiences become automatic routines, resulting in days, weeks, months, and years that seem empty and hollow in remembrance.
Newness can break the trance of autopilot and force us into presence and focus because we can't anticipate what to expect and how to respond. This explains why time seemed slower when we were kids because everything was new, and we were constantly learning.
Psychologist William James wrote about this in his 1890 work, The Principles of Psychology.
He described how in youth, "we might have an absolutely new experience every hour of the day, and our apprehension is vivid and retentiveness strong. Our recollections of that time are of something intricate, multitudinous, and long-drawn-out, like those of a time spent in rapid and interesting travel."
Learning new skills can enhance awareness of the present moment.
Practicing skills that require the use of both mind and body can bring about a sense of mindfulness. No specific meditation practices or rituals are necessary for this type of awareness.
The process of learning and the journey toward mastery can bring a sense of fulfillment and presence.
Creating life impressions requires you to get beyond doing the same things repeatedly.
Your life "scrapbook" looks empty when you eventually "take inventory on your life" if all you do is the same thing, day in and day out.
Start doing more novel and exciting things to create a lasting impression in your scrapbook.
Regularly embrace silence and nature.
Spending time in nature has numerous physical and mental health benefits, including decreases in blood pressure, heart rates, and stress hormone levels, as well as reduced anxiety, depression, and hostility.
One study found that spending just 15 minutes sitting and walking through nature resulted in these drops in measurements.
Any time in nature is beneficial, but spending more time in wilder spaces, such as semi-wild areas, results in greater benefits.
Research shows that spending time in wilder spaces, such as level two of the nature pyramid (see below), results in greater relaxation and restoration than spending time in urban parks.
Spending time in nature allows the brain to enter a state of "soft fascination," similar to meditation, that restores and builds the resources needed for cognitive tasks and creativity.
This is similar to unfocused mode, but instead of mind wandering, you're gently focused on the outside world, which isn't overwhelming.
The wilder the nature, the better.
The "three-day effect" is a phenomenon experienced in backcountry nature trips that are similar to a meditation retreat, resulting in numerous physical and mental health benefits.
The nature pyramid:
Level 1: A local park (20-minutes per day)
Level 2: Semi-wild places like a state forest (5hrs per month)
Level 3: Wild places
The "three-day effect" refers to the phenomenon of feeling more relaxed and restored after spending three or more days in the wild, similar to a meditation retreat but without cost or a guru.
The rewilding of the body and brain can be a gradual process, with stress and health markers improving on the first day but full meditative mode being achieved on the third day.
By day three, the senses are completely dialed in, and discomfort has shifted to a welcome sensation that signals calmness and a feeling of life satisfaction.
The three-day effect:
1st Day: Stress and health markers have improved, but the mind is still adjusting to the discomforts of nature. "We're thinking about how it sucks to be cold, missing our phone, and still focusing on the anxieties we left behind—what's happening at work and whether we closed the garage door."
2nd Day: The mind is becoming settled, and awareness is heightened. You start to care less about what you left behind and notice the smells, sights and sounds around you.
3rd Day: "Now our senses are completely dialed in, and we can reach a fully meditative mode of feeling connected to nature. The discomfort isn't so bad. It has, in fact, shifted to a welcome sensation that signals a calmness and feeling of life satisfaction."
Listening to nature sounds has been found to significantly lower stress levels compared to artificial noises, like blasting rock music while you work.
Seeking everyday silence by disconnecting from electronic devices benefits the brain and body.
Two hours of quiet time at home, even with the use of earplugs or noise-canceling headphones, promotes the production of cells in a brain area associated with combating depression.
At-home silence has been found to be more calming than listening to Mozart and can induce relaxation by reducing blood pressure, heart rate, and breathing rate more effectively than other relaxation techniques.
Take on challenging tasks.
Modern stressors are insignificant compared to the stressors that humans evolved to cope with.
First-world stress revolves around things like being late for a yoga class, comparing one's wealth to others, or worrying about college admissions. It has a different nature and severity compared to traditional stress.
Comforts and conveniences have resulted in long-term physical and mental health problems.
Modern humans no longer face physical struggles and have too many numbing agents to distract themselves.
We are so disconnected from things that make us happy and alive, such as perseverance, connection, and being in nature. Obedience to comfort has driven people to be soft and weak.
Humans have evolved to live in certain conditions and experience certain things that are no longer present in modern life, the main one being living with being uncomfortable and connecting with the nature around us—ultimate presence.
"Comfort creep" is a similar phenomenon to problem creep, but it applies to how we relate to comfort.
As new comforts are introduced, we adapt to them, and our old comforts become unacceptable. This leads to a new level of what's considered comfortable, and today's comfort becomes tomorrow's discomfort.
Comfort creep occurs as we adapt to new technology and devices, such as smartphones and air conditioning.
Misogi, which involves challenging oneself to complete a difficult task, can improve mental health and resilience.
Misogi involves two rules:
the task must be extremely difficult
one cannot die while attempting it
The challenge must have a fifty percent chance of success if everything is done correctly.
Modern humans may have an unmet need to undertake difficult tasks, as depression and anxiety have been linked to being untested.
Epic outdoor challenges, like backcountry hunts or mountain summits, can be more effective than other forms of challenges.
Studies suggest that confronting risk, fear, or danger can produce optimal stress and discomfort, leading to improved self-esteem, character-building, and psychological resilience. An outdoor test can be better than organized urban marathons or team sports.
This toughening process can leave individuals better able to deal with many things.
Challenging oneself with epic outdoor tasks can help individuals develop the physical, psychological, emotional, and spiritual tools needed to succeed.
Leaving the modern, sterile world and exposing oneself to new stressors can promote outcomes like improved self-esteem, character-building, and psychological resilience.
Individuals who undertake such challenges may develop an internal capacity that leaves them better able to deal with many things.
Learn to love being alone.
Loneliness is a prevalent issue in society despite the hyperconnectivity and tribalism that exists.
Being lonely can increase the risk of mortality and shorten life by 15 years, highlighting the importance of building meaningful relationships. Good relationships are vital for happiness and can beat fortune and fame.
But, building the capacity to be alone is an important skill to develop alongside forging good relationships.
Solitude, which is being alone with oneself without distractions, has also been praised by figures such as the Buddha, Lao-Tzu, Moses, Milton, and Emerson for its benefits.
Society often frames solitude as punishment, which may contribute to our discomfort with being alone.
Developing the ability to be alone and comfortable with oneself can be critical for avoiding the negative effects of loneliness and transforming feelings of loneliness into feelings of rich solitude.
The brain process of trigger, behavior, and reward, which once helped humans to survive, is now being hijacked by modern-day distractions.
The trigger for the brain process is no longer just hunger but also boredom, leading people to consume more "junk food for the mind," such as checking social media, news feeds, or Instagram.
The behavior of distracting ourselves with technology rewards us with a hit of dopamine, making us excited and less tolerant of distress.
This paradoxical situation of modern-day distractions can hurt our health, and we need to find ways to be productive and creative without relying on technology.
We need to learn to be bored again.
The key to productivity and performance is not to do anything at all—to embrace boredom and let your mind refresh and run free.
Not diving into screens prompts us to think distinctly, leading to more original ideas and creativity, and lets our minds recharge.
Steve Jobs was a big believer in boredom, stating that having nothing to do can be wonderful and contribute to personal growth.
We kill our happiness by never giving our brains a break.
We spend so much time in media that over a lifetime, people will have spent roughly 10 years looking at their phone—that doesn't even include television.
To live, you have to understand the difference between focused and unfocused mode and spend more time unfocused:
Focused mode is when your mind is at attention. It's when you're trying to process outside information like a task, scrolling through your phone, or watching TV.
Unfocused mode is when you're not paying attention. It's an inward mind-wandering, which becomes "a rest state that restores and rebuilds the resources needed to work better and more efficiently in the focused state."
Regularly think about death.
The mind is plagued by three delusions: greed, anger, and ignorance.
When confronted with the imminent reality of death, individuals prioritize what truly brings them happiness, leaving behind materialistic concerns and regrets.
Research shows that the top regrets of dying individuals include not living in the present moment, working excessively, and living a life dictated by societal expectations rather than personal desires.
Impermanence, a fundamental Buddhist principle, asserts that everything is subject to change and decay.
Attempting to hold onto what is ephemeral, including one's own life, leads to suffering.
The Buddha's final words highlighted the transient nature of existence, emphasizing that all things are impermanent and eventually pass away.
Acknowledging impermanence is vital, and individuals should contemplate it three times a day.
By embracing the uncertainty and inevitability of death, one gains a deeper appreciation for life and the present moment.
