Our world has never been more convenient and comfortable. With just a few taps of our fingers, we can order food to our door, access endless entertainment options, and keep our climate at a steady 72 degrees. We don't have to put in much effort, much less face any risk or challenge, in order to sustain our daily lives.
In some ways, this quantum leap in humanity's comfort level is a great boon. But in other ways, it's absolutely killing our minds, bodies, and spirit.
My guest says it's time to reclaim the currently-hard-to-come-by but truly essential benefits of discomfort. His name is Michael Easter, and he's a writer, editor, and professor, and the author of The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self. Michael first shares how his experience with getting sober helped him discover the life-changing potential of doing hard things, before digging into what fleeing from discomfort is doing to our mental and physical health. We then discuss the Japanese idea of misogis, which involves taking on an epic outdoor challenge, and why Michael decided to do a misogi in which he participated in a month-long caribou hunt in the backcountry of Alaska. Michael shares what he learned from the various challenges he encountered during his misogi — including intense hunger, boredom, solitude, and physical exertion — as well as what research can teach all of us about why we need to incorporate these same kinds of discomforts into our everyday lives.
Resources Related to the EpisodeThe Secrets of Public Speaking From History's Greatest Orators
Social Psychology Won't Save Us
Forging Mental Strength Through Physical Strength
Theodore Roosevelt, The Last Romantic
Sisu, the Finnish Art of Strength
The Fascinating Secrets of Your Voice
Why Is It So Hard to Admit You Were Wrong?
The Two Halves of the Warrior's Life
What You Can (Really) Learn About Exercise from Your Human Ancestors
The Life Philosophy of Bruce Lee
Email Is Making Us Miserable — Here's What to Do About It
Protection for and from Humanity
How to Get a Handle on the Voice in Your Head
The Psychology of Boredom
How to Decide
Help for Those Stuck Between Boyhood and Manhood
How to Think Like a Renaissance Man
Get Rucking
The Epic Exploits of Kit Carson
Influence and Persuade Through Human Hacking
Create your
podcast in
minutes
It is Free