365 Days With Self-Discipline: 365 Life-Altering Thoughts on Self-Control, Mental Resilience, and Success

WEEK 50

Day 344: On the Desire for Safety

The desire for safety stands against every great and noble enterprise.

—Tacitus

 

344

When setting any new goals, the desire for safety will fight against the

desire  for  growth.  Choosing  safety  is  choosing  instant  gratification,  while

going for growth might be uncomfortable now, but will eventually deliver

bigger and better rewards.

Learn  how  to  overcome  the  desire  for  safety  by  regularly  expanding

your comfort zone and reaping the rewards of doing so. It’s hard to imagine

how beneficial temporarily giving up safety can be unless you actually do

it. No words of mine will persuade you more than you actually venturing

out, testing it for yourself, and feeling more powerful, thanks to facing your

fears.

You  can  also  follow  the  strategy  of  alternating  between  periods  of

safety and growth: after each big step forward that required courage and put

you in an uncomfortable situation, give yourself a few days to enjoy safety.

Then, when you feel secure and recharged, expose yourself to danger and

growth again. That way, you’ll consistently stretch yourself in a sustainable

way, without ever completely exhausting your mental energy.

That’s  what  I  often  do  during  my  rock  climbing  workouts:  on  some

workouts I favor technical routes that require little courage but lots of focus

and then on other workouts, I climb difficult, mental routes where a fear of

falling enters into the equation.

Thanks to this approach, I rarely don’t feel like climbing; whenever I

don’t feel mentally ready to give up the feeling of security, I can simply do

something else and then expand my comfort zone the next time, when I’ll

have recovered.

Stretch  your  comfort  zone  frequently,  but  do  it  in  a  sustainable  way:

ensure that you regularly get to enjoy at least a short period of security to

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gather energy for another expedition that will take you beyond your comfort

zone.

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