How Seeking Discomfort Can Change Your Life

About a month ago, one of my good friends told me to subscribe to weekly newsletters from a group called Yes Theory. I had no idea what I was getting myself into, but I figured why not, so I said okay. I later found out that Yes Theory is a super cool group of guys who travel the world seeking discomfort by saying yes to whatever life threw at them. This ranges from asking strangers to go skydiving with them to letting a dice control their lives for 24 hours. Sounds absolutely crazy right?

Who in their right mind wants to seek discomfort?

Definitely not me.

But these guys literally live their lives by this motto. If you go on their website the phrase “seek discomfort” is everywhere. From newsletters to merch, those two words were always getting drilled into me the more I watched. The thing about these guys is that you can tell that their lives are filled with a joy, authenticity, adventures and passion for life that I can’t even begin to imagine.

While at first I didn’t understood why anyone would willingly do this, I think I might finally get it.

I want a life of adventure—everyone does. But how many of us will actually get that if we’re stuck in these everyday 9-to-5 routines? Honestly, odds are we never will because we never put ourselves out there enough to get it. We are too afraid of getting hurt or not having control to take the jump.

As I’m sitting in my dorm room watching these videos and writing this article, I realize that I am the epitome of being scared, holding back and wanting control. It even took me years to build the courage to submit my first article to Thought Catalog.

So trust me—I get it. But, humor me and consider this…

But what if we jump into this idea of seeking discomfort? With nothing holding us back, we put our hearts, minds and bodies into this crazy world. As a result, instead of getting hurt, we start to experience joy and instead of having control, we are finally free of the constraints that life puts on us.

We will never live a fulfilling, authentic or exciting life unless we choose to actively pursue it.

The idea of this is terrifying. I know, the unknown is scary. But, that is what makes it so exciting. You will experience a lot of uneasiness and bumps along your journey but that is normal, and that’s okay. Every bump along the road is an exciting story to tell later.

This idea of seeking discomfort even though you don’t really know what to expect could mean moving halfway across the world. It could mean moving 6 hours away from home like it meant for me. If you’re like my best friend Kennedy, it could mean jumping off a 30-foot cliff even though you’re terrified of heights. It could even be as simple as asking out that person you like. It’s completely different for everyone and that is what makes your adventure and truth that much more exciting. Life is just one big “choose your own adventure” game.

But for this to happen, you have to do it.

You have to jump in and live spontaneously.

You have to do it because growth and comfort can’t coexist.

You have to do it because you will never be as young as you are right now.

So, say yes. Jump in, relish in not being able to control everything for once in your life.

Starting today, begin seeking discomfort everywhere you go and with everything inside of you. Know that I am right there with you, terrified as I am trying to seek my own discomfort.

It will be scary, it will be rewarding, and it will lead to a lifetime of adventure that we’re all looking for.