Comfortable Discomfort
A lot of people are said to be 'living comfortably'.
It's a phrase I throw around very often too.
"Oh, they have a nice house, they are 'living comfortably',"
"When I get myself a car, I'll be 'living comfortably'."
But, what really is this comfort?
Is it sitting on a soft cushioned chair?
Is it lying on the beach, shades on, wine glass in hand, sun rays tickling your skin?
Is it?
To be honest, I don't know.
But what I do know is that with everything you get, there is some price to pay. To get the comfort of a new car, some might have to pay using the quality time they could have spent with their family. They pay the price by missing birthdays, leaving an empty chair at the dinner table and being absent in photo albums.
So does complete comfort really exist?
Well... Yes and no.
Here's how I would break it down.
Life gives us choices, and we tend to make those choices based on what's most important.
See, our priorities differ. One person may trade buying the latest car for a trip to another continent. And from that, it is apparent that our comfort levels are different.
Does that mean that the person going on the trip is physically comfortable with having to take public transport?
Maybe not.
But here's the thing. They may seem to be in or feel external discomfort, but the internal comfort of knowing that they will be going on their dream trip is bigger and greater than late buses and traffic jams. It's bigger than muddy shoes on rainy days. It's bigger than all of that.
We are all a little comfortable and uncomfortable in different ways. But when we choose the comfort that means more, over the discomfort that means less, we become more comfortable than uncomfortable. So I guess that's what life is about. Accepting that everything is uncomfortable in one way or another but choosing to invest in what gives you more comfort at the end of the day. This goes for everything, jobs and relationships included.
We need to reach a point where we can say, "I am comfortable in my discomfort"
~Nalađź‘‘
It's a phrase I throw around very often too.
"Oh, they have a nice house, they are 'living comfortably',"
"When I get myself a car, I'll be 'living comfortably'."
But, what really is this comfort?
Is it sitting on a soft cushioned chair?
Is it lying on the beach, shades on, wine glass in hand, sun rays tickling your skin?
Is it?
To be honest, I don't know.
But what I do know is that with everything you get, there is some price to pay. To get the comfort of a new car, some might have to pay using the quality time they could have spent with their family. They pay the price by missing birthdays, leaving an empty chair at the dinner table and being absent in photo albums.
So does complete comfort really exist?
Well... Yes and no.
Here's how I would break it down.
Life gives us choices, and we tend to make those choices based on what's most important.
See, our priorities differ. One person may trade buying the latest car for a trip to another continent. And from that, it is apparent that our comfort levels are different.
Does that mean that the person going on the trip is physically comfortable with having to take public transport?
Maybe not.
But here's the thing. They may seem to be in or feel external discomfort, but the internal comfort of knowing that they will be going on their dream trip is bigger and greater than late buses and traffic jams. It's bigger than muddy shoes on rainy days. It's bigger than all of that.
We are all a little comfortable and uncomfortable in different ways. But when we choose the comfort that means more, over the discomfort that means less, we become more comfortable than uncomfortable. So I guess that's what life is about. Accepting that everything is uncomfortable in one way or another but choosing to invest in what gives you more comfort at the end of the day. This goes for everything, jobs and relationships included.
We need to reach a point where we can say, "I am comfortable in my discomfort"
~Nalađź‘‘
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