Thought of the Day: Comfort is nice but not necessary

December 10, 2025

I have a complicated relationship with comfort. I love it. I appreciate it. I will absolutely choose it when it’s offered. Give me a blanket, a quiet room, a cup of coffee that’s still hot, and ten whole minutes before a small human asks me for a snack, and I’m yours. But comfort, for all its warm appeal, is optional. Nice, but not necessary.

Most of what I’m proud of in my life began somewhere uncomfortable. Waking up before the sun. Starting projects that felt bigger than my confidence. Showing up to workouts when my body wanted to negotiate. Parenting through nights when no one in the house slept at the same time. Cleaning rooms that looked like the aftermath of a tornado made of Legos. Growth rarely shows up with a robe and slippers. It usually kicks the door open and says, “Sorry, this is going to feel terrible before it feels meaningful.”

When I look back, the moments that shaped me weren’t the ones where I was cozy. They were the ones where I was stretched. Challenged. Tired but trying anyway. And maybe that’s the quiet truth inside today’s Thought of the Day. Comfort feels like the goal, but it’s really just the reward you earn after surviving the parts of life that feel nothing like comfort.

There’s a funny trap hidden in comfort, too. It whispers that you should wait for the perfect moment. Perfect energy. Perfect circumstances. Perfect mental clarity. And then life taps you on the shoulder and reminds you that none of those things are guaranteed. Sometimes you start the thing while you are exhausted. Sometimes you keep going even when the conditions are unfriendly. Sometimes you take the step while muttering to yourself and wishing you had stayed in bed.

And yet you still grow.

Maybe that’s what makes discomfort strangely empowering. You don’t have to enjoy it. You don’t have to pretend it’s inspiring. You just have to keep moving through it, and eventually you look back and realize the uncomfortable parts are the ones that built you.

Comfort is wonderful when it arrives. But it’s not required for you to become who you’re trying to become. It’s a bonus, not the foundation.

🧠 Read the full blog post where I explore this Thought of the Day and the Question of the Day

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