My wife and I bought a “fixer-upper” home in the country. It is a very unique home and while the original construction was sound, much of the house was in poor condition and needed some serious updates. This is still a work in progress. One day my brother-in-law was over and my wife was telling him what our long term plans for the house were. She mentioned that we were going to get rid of the couch. He asked if we would get a new one and my wife told him that we would not. He wondered what we would replace it with. We said we were not going to replace it at all. With a quizzical look he asked us where we would sit! We explained that we would keep a few chairs for company but that we would mostly sit on the floor. He was understandably shocked and stated that that didn’t sound very comfortable! Well, for him it isn’t very comfortable but we are growing used to it. Typically, I prefer sitting on the floor to sitting on a cushy couch. (I’ll write more about that decision later)
There is a principle that has been familiar to me for a while but I keep seeing it over and over in business articles, podcasts, and education publications. I read about it here on Oliver DeMille’s (founder of Thomas Jefferson Education) site Center for Social Leadership. Basically it states that some things are hard at first but make your life easier later on down the road. Other things are easy at first, but make your life hard down the road. It seems that many people understand this principle when it comes to things like acquiring wealth. They know that it takes time and hard work. Starting a business is the same way. Another example is nutrition. You can choose the more difficult path of making your own meals with wholesome foods and your life will be much easier because of good health. Or you can take the easy route by always eating fast food and then suffer poor health for the rest of your life. However, when it comes to physical comfort, people seem to forget this principle. It seems that the holy grail of the physical existence is to seek for comfort. You want comfortable shoes, a soft cushy couch, a comfortable bed, etc. etc. I ask you to stop and think about what some of the consequences might be for always seeking comfort?
Because I work in the footwear industry, I’m going to use shoes as the example. Since cushioned shoes were invented, they have become the standard footwear. Why wouldn’t they!? They are comfortable and shock absorbing and can help us stand longer, run faster, walk further, or just save us from always having to feel what is on the ground. The problem lies within the fact that our feet are designed to do a job and cushioned shoes take that job. Our feet grow weak because they aren’t being used they way they are designed. In essence, it is a cast.
The challenge here is to start to be mindful about the things you do and contemplate the short and long term consequences. Movement might be uncomfortable just because you’re not used to it. Be careful not to overwhelm yourself but to pick one thing and make a small change. Maybe you walk down the road to visit a neighbor instead of driving? Maybe you choose to sit on the floor for a few minutes before you plop into the couch? Maybe you choose to walk out to the mailbox barefoot instead of putting on slippers or shoes? If you are taking shortcuts that outsource your movement (we all do it) then you can find at least one thing to start working on.
Just because something is comfortable doesn’t necessarily mean that it is wholesome or healthy. If you are seeking personal growth, you may want to take a second look at the things that make you comfortable and ask yourself if a little discomfort now could make your life better in the long run.