Our society is overrun with convenience. Everything is about efficiency and staying comfortable. Instead of going out and having to gather our food and kill animals to survive, we have grocery stores. Not only do we have grocery stores, but we can also order our food online and have someone deliver our food to our door. How about building a house, there are so many power tools and equipment they use to assemble a house now adays. Before, they had hammer, nails, and a whole lot of brute strength.
So, the more things become convenient and comfortable, the more we have to look for ways to challenge ourselves. Especially for young men, there is something with the production of testosterone and dopamine hits, that men find enjoyment in doing hard shit. The problem is, men are getting their dopamine hits from porn and social media, they are no longer doing hard shit, getting their original dopamine hit from doing and accomplishing hard shit. Hell, instead of me having to write this by hand, I am able to type this on a computer.
All we can do, if we want to be better and more adapt to deal with the shit life throws at us. We have to callous our mind and body through difficult shit. 2 years ago, I decided I was going to run a half marathon because I am a weightlifter and it seemed like a pretty good challenge for both my physical capabilities and my mental toughness. Turned out, it was a pretty good challenge! In the last year, I picked up jiu jitsu. This is very physically demanding and mentally taxing. Going multiple times a week and doing an hour and a half of physical movements, I have never done before. This taxes the body; I am sore every single week and have been since I started. It is also a mental challenge, it’s like chess with bodies, you are trying to learn new moves, and then trying to string them together in multiple moves, all while trying to think what your opponent may be thinking of doing to you. There are many days when I do not want to go to the gym, but I know the importance of getting there and training, so I do the challenging thing and I get my ass there!
Now, Sam, some of our family, and I are doing 75 Hard, we are 27 days in. This has been a real challenge. For those of you not familiar with 75 hard, go listen to Real AF podcast with Andy Frisella, episode 208, he explains the program there. Every single day, having to complete the same 5 tasks without deviation is not an easy thing to do, however, it is very rewarding. We are learning, we do not need to eat cheat meals whenever we feel. We do not need to have a piece of chocolate after dinner. We do not need to have a beer at social gatherings like we always used to do.
Doing challenging things is the only way for us to be happy and fulfilled in life. If we are not doing anything challenging, we do not have a good purpose in life. Life is not supposed to be easy; it is not supposed to sunshine and rainbows. We are supposed to have trials and tribulations which help us appreciate the good times. I believe struggle is the true path to happiness.
Get out there and try something new or do something challenging.
Your life Tutor
-Shaun Tutor
Tutors of Life 