In this essay I will argue that the excessive pursuit of comfort in the modern world is weakening mankind and prevents the individual from reaching excellence. I will then look at how this problem can be resolved.
I will argue that we have created for ourselves a paradox of comfort: our lives are easier than they have ever been, yet a consequence of this ease is that things appear harder than ever before. The further we move ourselves into the arms of comfort, the tighter her squeeze becomes, and the more difficult it is to escape her grasp. I define excellence as reaching one’s potential. Thus my argument is that comfort hinders the individual from reaching one’s potential.
Comfort weakens the individual
First, I will look at why the modern obsession with comfort has become destructive to the fabric of the human mind.
For most people life is no longer perilous or dangerous, and there is no struggle for basic survival. Yet why do people maintain that life is so difficult? Why is there so much complaint in the face of minimal adversity? Perhaps it is the case that life is harder in the modern world than it has ever been and it is harder to cope than ever before. Or perhaps it is the case that the human mind has become weaker and more fragile than ever before. Perhaps there is a endemic void within modernity, a void of comfort within which the roots of fragility grew and took its hold. What is more likely – that life is harder than ever before, or that humanity is weaker than ever before?
It would seem that both are true. We weaken our minds and things become more difficult. It is not that life is any harder in any survival sense, that is obviously not the case. But it is the case that the cultivation of endless distraction and entertainment has meant that the possibility for mental fortitude is quickly becoming more and more difficult to sustain and build.
We are therefore faced with a kind of paradox – our lives have never been more comfortable, yet it is this very comfort which causes us to feel as if life has never been harder. I will call this The Comfort Paradox.
Too much ease in the human mind destroys the fiery valour of man. Life does, of course, have its challenges in the modern age. It is fast-paced and changes quickly in a manner which our species has not known before. It may take a long time for our brains to properly adapt to this new way of life. The development of the internet and the virtual world has completely transformed how we interact with each other and ourselves. Yet we still elude genuine danger, and the need for basic survival is wholly satisfied. Why then do we commonly lack the mental fortitude to overcome adversity and mediocrity?
Excessive comfort makes an easy life appear hard. Even the easiest of actions can appear difficult when enthroned in the grasps of comfort. This is the life that we have constructed for ourselves in the modern age. It is necessary to realize that the culture we live in has been set up in such a manner to maximise comfort, which in turn increases mental fragility and thereby makes the mind of the individual vulnerable to mediocrity. We created a society that encourages indulgence in comfort at every turn. Endless social media consumption, entertainment and mundane jobs that have little vocation or meaningful human interaction can leave us feeling isolated in a world that is supposedly well-connected. People are scattered without a sense of community or structure. Likewise, our minds are scattered, pulled in countless different directions as our attention is endlessly fought for and our ability to focus is quickly eroded. Our minds become frayed from the dopamine overdrive and anything difficult becomes impossible to overcome. We are victims of the recent successes of mankind. Yet it is our own responsibility to overcome this obstacle. We must consciously move towards discomfort in order to train our minds to think and act differently.
These are not new ideas, although we are certainly having to apply them in a new and generally unknown context. The Stoics believed in these same concepts. Seneca viewed comfort as the greatest killer of achievement. Hannibal was a feared soldier and master of war. Comfort softened him and he lost his edge. The hot pools he bathed in weakened his warrior spirit – ‘his pampering in Campania took the vigour out of that hero who had triumphed over Alpine snows. He conquered with his weapons, but was conquered with his vices’[1]. The hunger Hannibal once had for conquest was softened and sated by pleasures and comforts. This is why comfort is the enemy of excellence – it weakens an individual’s desire for excellence and hinders them from reaching their true potential. The will to go through the pain to actualize one’s potential is numbed by the many forms of comfort.
Why is it that comforts harm actualization? Because it offers one thing above all else: distraction. The multitudes of comfort make us numb to the idea of the people we could be if we decided to endure pain and discomfort. We distract our minds in order to avoid confronting ourselves and our unrealized potential. The greatest form of distraction is comfort, because it feels good to keep our minds busy. The undistracted mind has to come to terms with its shortcomings and the problems of existence. It is painful for an individual to listen to one’s own mind. Pascal maintained that ‘all of humanity's problems stem from man's inability to sit quietly in a room alone’ for good reason. A noisy mind can cause havoc on an person’s ability to choose decisions that will benefit them long term.
The Resolution
On a long enough timescale too much comfort creates feedback loops that lead to weakness. The modern world exudes comfort. It is everywhere, readily available in many different and potent forms. There is nothing more available, nothing more encouraged to the individual than the multitudes of comfort. And yet there is nothing more destructive to the development of an individual than comfort. How then do we overcome this obstacle?
As I mentioned earlier, comfort provides many forms of distraction. One must then work to eliminate these distractions. Unnecessary noise is everywhere. Use technology for creation rather than consumption and work to eradicate meaningless ingestion of media and entertainment. Find ways to bring pain into your life – train harder in the gym, develop a new skill, take a new risk. Life on the other side of pain is far more beautiful than life in the comfort zone.
These things are easier said than done. Incremental steps are the secret to mental and physical endurance alike. A gradual disavowal of comfort for the sake of discomfort will enable oneself to move to their goals at a consistent rate. ‘I will train for 5 minutes longer each session this week, then 10 minutes the next, then 15 minutes etc.’ is far more within reach than ‘I will train for 30 minutes longer each session this week’. Smoking one less cigarette each day and gradually tapering off is far more within reach than cutting it out altogether. A strategy for defeating comfort is necessary. It will not happen by accident; the modern world guarantees this.
Voluntary pain trains the mind for endurance. It creates feedback loops within your brain such that when hardship and suffering comes (and it will come), your mind is already ready and prepared. If you choose comfort, you will thank yourself now but you will suffer later. If you choose discomfort you will suffer now, but you will benefit later. As I said, the answers are simple to understand but difficult to implement.
There is a reason that ‘in days of peace the soldier performs manoeuvres.’ In times of ease it is necessary to prepare for times of tragedy. They will occur, in one form or another. You must be prepared. Otherwise, they will crush you. Comfort will ruin you if you permit it. It will make you fearful of failure, and as a result fearful of taking risks. A life without risk is a terrible life. Excellence always lies over the hill of discomfort, and discomfort always involves an element of risk – be it physical, financial or mental. Excellence requires pain as its sacrifice. Choose pain and discomfort. Your future self will thank you.
[1] Seneca Letters, XLI: On Baiae and morals
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