My husband says it all the time: no one wants to be uncomfortable.
I’m his prime example and offender.
I know I don’t. But comfort doesn’t lead to growth, only stagnation and more fear (especially for me). I like the comfort of my job, my routine, my home life, my clothes, the list goes on and on…I can see it starting to deteriorate the carefully constructed life I’ve built and it’s…dissatisfying. Why don’t we/ I want to be uncomfortable? Scarcity? Fear? Anxiety? We/ I just don’t want to?
They say to welcome the discomfort. To invite her in- Like an old friend: “Come on in, why don’t you stay a while?” She says, “I’ve been waiting for you.”
I don’t think we ever really get used to being uncomfortable- more like we get a lesson in the uncomfortable becoming comfortable or honestly, completely necessary.
In 2024, I decided I was going to add a daily cold plunge to the devotional and Bible readings I was doing during the season of Lent (40 days between Ash Wednesday and Easter in the liturgical calendar) for those who practice- it is a good time to take something away (fast) or to add something in to one’s daily rituals and habits in an effort to better commune and be grounded in your faith practice in the days leading up to the tomb being rolled away. I knew it would be uncomfortable, but I was not prepared for the genuinely positive reaction that I would have to participating in that daily practice. I began to almost crave the cold, and if you know anything about me, I do not love the cold in general, but it helped clear my mind and helped calm my joints. I could not believe that I would ever get in freezing cold water ON PURPOSE and yet, it began to carve a spot into my daily liturgy. What began as a portable tub essentially turned into a permanent solution that my incredible husband researched for weeks and then built us a phenomenal DIY version so that we could continue this daily habit.
After that, I read the Comfort Crisis by Michael Easter and whoa man does that book open your eyes. I scarfed that bit of lit down on my Kindle in about 2 days! I won’t spoil the book for you, but it is definitely worth the read. It’s on by TBR list annually now. It is a phenomenal reminder of what the human experience and capabilities are and can be if we decide that losing just a little bit (or a lot) of comfort is worth it.
So, here is what I’m working on for 2026:
Making decisions and then sticking with them- just making a decision and going with it…whether right or wrong, doing something is better than not doing anything at all.
Practicing saying ‘NO’ and leaving it at that-
Movement helps too…going outside, moving my body, writing, coloring, playing with my dogs.
All of this to say: January can be a hard month, it’s cold, not much sunlight in some places and it can be a struggle to find things to do but that doesn’t mean we can’t make progress in other areas of our lives.
So- shall we get comfortable being uncomfortable?
EMC// 1.26.26
IG:@emcummings822// elysedavis.com