I have been listening to an audiobook on my morning walks with Jak. A few weeks ago, the idea of comfort culture was mentioned. I cannot get this out of my head.
I have been concerned for years about what we are doing to an entire generation of people. How we are running so much interference for them that we are leaving them stunted, unable to navigate even the slightest difficulty. So quick to shove smartphones in their hands to avoid boredom and go straight to the top of the chain of command for them to solve any issues that arise. Rather than teaching them how to navigate difficulty, we simply take it from them. We remove the obstacle and therefore eliminate the opportunity to learn to navigate it.
Sweet friends, we are missing it. We are not called to be comfortable. Yet that is all we seek. We have become so stunted by discomfort that we think anything that is uncomfortable must not be the right path. We run at the first sign of difficulty. People quit their jobs because they are hard only to find that the next one is harder. When did we begin to expect work not to be hard? It’s called work for a reason. It is a broken cycle and it breaks my heart.
When we are seeking comfort in an uncomfortable world, we will always be disappointed. When we can make the mental shift from constantly seeking comfort, to embracing discomfort things change. The truth is, life is hard. I am so very thankful for parents who raised me in reality. I was raised to believe that nothing would be given to me, that I would have to work for it, that it would be really hard and even then there were no guarantees. I was always encouraged to pursue my dreams and taught that I could do anything, but I was also taught that I would have to work for it.
Sweet friends, I urge all of you to stop seeking comfort. It’s a dangerous mindset. Seeking immediate and instant comfort leads us away from the real work. Growth is hard. Change is hard. Life is hard. We need to learn to embrace it and support each other through it, rather than expecting it to be easy. If it’s truly easy, you’re probably no longer where you really need to be. Learning to anticipate and embrace the struggle is where the most meaningful things emerge.
