The Invisible Price Tag of Comfort

Jake Luehrs
March 15, 2025

ONE QUESTION (it’s two, I know)

What if you made seeking progress over discomfort a habit? How would your life be different?

ONE THING TO PONDER

Without fear, the truth will expose itself.

ONE PERSPECTIVE

What if our pursuit of comfort is actually holding us back?

We often calculate the pros and cons of acting, but underestimate the cost of inaction.

What is it that we know we desire to be, yet haven’t been because we’ve put comfort ahead of our growth?

The truth is, we all seek comfort.

Comfort isn’t inherently bad, yet can be when we use it as the highest priority in our decision making.

Most meaningful things that we accomplish and do in our lifetimes are often a result of taking on something that is new and uncomfortable.

Very little progress or growth shows up when we simply seek comfort over growth.

Remember being a child?

Constantly exploring, falling down, getting up, trying again.

Children are growth machines - fearlessly tackling new challenges. Every. Single. Day.

So when did we switch from: "Let me try this new thing!" to "Let me stay where it's safe"?

In complete transparency, I’ll tell on myself. For me, it was when I felt I had ‘arrived.’ My focus became fearful of what I would lose vs. the excitement of what I could gain.

What I had ‘gained’, money, titles, etc. had superseded my north star, my purpose.

We start to play things safe and stop growing when we feel we have enough and don’t want to ‘lose’ it, so we end up losing ourselves and ‘it’ in the process.

It takes effort and practice to be both content and ambitious. When we place being content on a pedestal, we end up losing our directions and purpose.

Here is a surface level contradiction - The safety we seek is often accomplished through proactive effort rather than hiding behind comfort.

Health: That burning sensation in your muscles during a workout…That's growth happening, savor it. You’ll have more comfort later in life.

Relationships: The difficult conversation we often avoid is precisely the one that could transform our connection. We will end up having a deeper and more meaningful connection with those around us when we are willing to have the hard conversations.

Wealth: Financial freedom comes not from earning more, but from the discipline to resist impulsive spending for emotional regulation.

Career: Every successful person has a resume of failures that the world never sees.

Find me someone that hasn’t failed and I’ll show you someone that has mastered mediocrity.

There is no question that if we want to have a great career, putting ourselves in the crosshairs of discomfort and failure is a necessity, and sometimes that doesn’t even get us there.

Doing the over and over will without question will bring a lifetime of success.

Personal Development: Breakthrough moments follow periods of struggle. Wisdom hides in the corners of challenge.

In order to improve, gain new skills, accomplish new results, all of those things require something new from us, some level of resistance.

Doing the uncomfortable things once or twice isn’t the illusion I want to give…the key is to do it hundreds and thousands of times.

Just remember, discomfort isn't just something to endure—it's the signal that we’re moving in the right direction.

"The comfort zone is a beautiful place, but nothing ever grows there." Unknown

Onward and upward!

PODCAST

Unlocking the Power of Great Questions

Craig Groeschel Leadership Podcast

The quality of our questions are the ceilings to our potential and relationships. This is a great listen, and puts an emphasis on the importance of being effective with questions. We all want to feel seen, heard and understood. The only way we get to experience that is through being asked meaningful questions. Questions are the opportunity and gateway to great things for all of us, take an opportunity to listen in!

BOOK RECOMMENDATION

The 6 Types of Working Genius
by Patrick Lencioni

This was a fascinating read, particularly with a professional perspective. There are reasons we do things, reasons we react and operate in certain ways, and reasons why some things give us energy and other things take it away. This is a great read with an engaging story that I believe is insightful and offers great perspective and self-awareness. Well worth the time and the assessment!