Hi,

I’ve been watching a lot of this random guy who loves hiking on YouTube.

One day, he decided he was getting uncomfortable with how comfortable he was becoming, and decided to walk the length of the UK.

He spent 2 months walking from John O'Groats to Lands End. Basically, he did something about it.

And it got me thinking: am I too comfortable?

Let’s find out - and don’t forget to subscribe!

The mornings are still quite dark, and it doesn’t make getting out of bed any easier.

Which means that any kind of morning habit - going to the gym, morning runs, waking up early - becomes much more difficult.

And who can blame us?

A warm bed in the morning is one of the hardest things to leave.

A warm bed is an immediate comfort, vs the delayed gratification of going to the gym.

The truth is, waking up early to go to the gym may not feel great in the short term.

But over time, the benefits will stack up.

In many ways, this is a great metaphor for the comfort zone. (well done me)

Welcome to the Comfort Zone™️

Ahhh the comfort zone. So warm and easy.

In his recent (and excellent) book Before and Laughter, Jimmy Carr writes:

Generally speaking, everything falls either inside or outside the comfort zone.

Running, waking up early, learning a new skill - these things are difficult and uncomfortable.

The further out of the comfort zone something is, the more discomfort it causes.

But usually, things outside the comfort zone are good for us.

Inside the comfort zone are things that are easy and have no mental resistance.

There's no discomfort caused by staying up until 1AM playing Call of Duty.

But after a week of these things, I'd feel... the same.

Because there's no growth from staying in the comfort zone.

🎯 Discomfort is the goal, not the thing to be avoided

The more we subject ourselves to discomfort, the happier we get. Meeting people, exercising, trying new things.

And when you look back at these things, it's those things that give you energy.

When you're on a chilled holiday, sitting around, not really doing too much - you start to avoid the interesting stuff, like going on hikes, or visiting new places.

You get lazy and sort of... useless. That's the comfort zone at play.

It's main aim is to get you to avoid discomfort, and stay within its warm reach. Jimmy Carr says:

Over time when we stay within our comfort zone, it shrinks even further, and gets harder to leave.

🗺 The comfort zone is a terrible guide

Clearly, the comfort zone is rubbish at telling us what's good for us, and what isn't.

So what's the solution?

Instead of making decisions guided by our comfort zone, Joey Schweitzer from Better Ideas says:

Acting like the person you want to be, and being the person you want to be, are the same thing.

He goes on to say:

Living as the people we want to be and ignoring discomfort gives us the lives we want to live.

Once discomfort no longer has a say in how we make decisions, the potential for what can be achieved increases dramatically.

• New job / side hustle

• Physical growth - fitness, aesthetics, ability

• Mental growth - learning new skills, confidence

• Expanding our network - meeting new people, potential significant other

And here's the secret:

After a while, these things get easier, and the comfort zone grows to meet us.

These previously uncomfortable things become part of everyday life.

So remember this next time when you're in your warm bed, it's cold and dark outside, and the alarm is going off to get you up and off to the gym.

It's only my comfort zone that wants me to stay here. It's all in my head!

It will get easier - and discomfort is only temporary anyway. I always tell myself this:

"I'll thank myself later."

Here's a nice final quote from Jimmy Carr's book:

This week I'm: ⬇️

❄️ Heading to Poland for the weekend 🗻

📺 Excited to watch Clarkson’s Farm Series 2 on Amazon Prime - looks like it’s going to be even better than the previous series which is a major achievement

📖 Reading an interesting article from the Guardian about giving up alcohol while still going out, pubs, etc. I have no intention of giving up alcohol just yet but it’s food for thought. I gave up booze

🍺 Wondering what you think of the new name for this email - A Work in Progress. I am a work in progress, this email is me figuring it all out.

📸 Looking at the winners of the International Garden Photographer of the Year awards. Here’s one of the winning photos taken in Devon, called ‘One Tree Hill’

💬 And finally, a quote

Thanks!

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In the meantime, you can find me on Twitter, Instagram and YouTube, and have a look at what I’m reading on Goodreads.

📸 BONUS: Photo of the Week