“A life of ease is not the pathway to growth and happiness. On the contrary, a life of ease is how you get stuck and confused in life.” -Benjamin P. Hardy
Most people mistakenly believe that happiness is about sitting on the beach sipping margaritas all day.
They think that they need to put their feet up and do nothing in order to finally be happy.
But soon a cruel and uncanny truth is discovered: that the pursuit of an easier life leads to a harder one.
As Chris Guillebeau once wrote,
“Just as we wonder “Is that all there is?” about conventional careers or life paths, after the initial detox of sunbathing and margaritas, we’d be asking the same questions about beach life — or whatever our vision of fantasy land is.”
What we’re all after is not to live in some fantasy land, but to see who we can become. We all crave a life of adventure and personal growth, not one of idleness while we see how little we can do.
This article will explain why the pursuit of an easier life leads to a harder one.
Here we go.
If You’re Not Creating Enough New Problems for Yourself, Then You’re Not Growing
“The only problem we really have is we think we’re not supposed to have problems.” -Tony Robbins
At our current moment, most people would rather comfort over growth.
They would rather turn to the numbing and lulling of distraction and entertainment than face the reality of life and all its hardships.
Indeed, they have come to believe that a successful life is one of no problems, but everyone has problems; a successful life is simply a matter of solving bigger problems.
Hence why Darren Hardy once wrote,
“A person’s life can generally be measured by the size of the problems they are trying to solve.”
So, how big are you living?
Are you fretting the small stuff or are you trying to move mountains?
Indeed, I’ve found that when you’re pursuing bigger and bigger goals, most of your everyday problems become quite small — a dirty dishwasher doesn’t seem to matter so much when you’re focused on leaving a legacy.
Upsize your problems and everything else falls into place.
The Law of Opposites
“You couldn’t have strength without weakness, you couldn’t have light without dark, you couldn’t have love without loss” -Jodi Picoult
According to Newton’s Third Law, all forces come in pairs, for every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.
Thus, you cannot have happiness without knowing sadness. You can’t have success without the possibility of failure. You cannot have growth without a struggle.
Hence the words from Ryan Holiday,
“The extent of the struggle determines the extent of the growth.”
It is the very challenges in day-to-day life that make it possible to thrive. Without said challenges, there would be nothing to overcome. You wouldn’t be able to evolve into better and greater versions of yourself.
So, don’t wish life were easier, wish you were better. Wish you had the courage and audacity to confront your fears. Wish you had the confidence to put yourself into situations that might not work.
What would happen if you actually got to that point?
Where could you end up?
Don’t be afraid of being bold; there are no limits. When you put yourself into situations that force you to change how and why you live, you very well can transcend beyond all realms you thought believable.
The tougher the environment, the greater the growth. Who you become is entirely up to you.
In Conclusion
A grueling truth is that the pursuit of an easier life leads to a harder one.
Without enough new challenges, your brain quickly becomes bored and asks, “What’s next?”
When you’re focused on solving bigger and bigger problems, you forget about all the little stuff and everything falls into place.
Don’t wish life were easier, wish you were braver. Wish you had the courage to transcend beyond what was predictable.
It is the very hardships in life that can lead you to thrive. Will you run from the challenge or will you stand to face the fire?