#238

According to Bear Grylls, if you can master the discomfort of cold, the boredom of waiting, and the paralysing nature of fear, you can outlast 99% of people.

Personally, I’m less interested in outlasting 99% of others and more interested in being 1% better than a previous version of myself.

Here’s what’s been whispering to me.

THE DISCOMFORT OF COLD

Maybe it’s not about cold at all. Maybe it’s about discomfort full stop.

We’re living in what The Comfort Crisis (a book by Michael Easter) calls a modern over-adjustment to ease. Food delivered. Attention grabbed. Entertainment on demand.

Our internal thermostat for inconvenience has been dialled down so low that the slightest discomfort feels intolerable.

Cold water. Awkward silence. Hard conversations. Delayed gratification.

The skill might not be only “handling cold” but reclaiming our capacity to tolerate discomfort.

Reflection Question:

Where in your life have you over-adjusted to comfort and what small, voluntary discomfort could you reintroduce to strengthen yourself?

THE BOREDOM OF WAITING

This is a sneaky one.

Waiting isn’t dramatic. It’s dull. It’s the gap between effort and outcome. The space between planting and harvest. The airport lounge. The unanswered email. The months where nothing obvious is happening.

And in that space, our modern reflex kicks in: reach for distraction. Scroll. Check. Refresh.

Waiting used to be woven into life. Now it feels like a glitch in the system.

The problem? So much of our growth requires waiting. Muscles grow in recovery. Trust grows over time. Reputations compound slowly. Meaningful change is seasonal, not instant.

Waiting exposes us to something uncomfortable:

> We can’t control the timeline

> We can’t speed up the process

> We can’t guarantee the outcome

So, boredom is not really boredom. It’s exposure to uncertainty without stimulation.

The Guinness ad once said, “Good things come to those who wait.”

Perhaps better: Good things come to those who can stay present while waiting.

Waiting is a training ground.

For patience.

For emotional regulation.

For resisting the urge to abandon something just because it hasn’t paid off yet.

What if waiting isn’t wasted time?

What if it’s where character compounds?

Reflection Question:

Where are you in a season of waiting right now and are you numbing the gap, or allowing it to shape you?

THE PARALYSING NATURE OF FEAR

Fear, indeed. False evidence appearing real?

Whether false or real, it feels real. Our nervous system doesn’t care about clever acronyms. Its job is to protect.

Fear only becomes paralysing if we insist on eliminating it before moving.

To quote grief expert David Kessler:

“What we run from pursues us and what we face transforms us.”

Maybe mastery isn’t fearlessness but about fearing less.

Maybe it’s taking one small step while afraid.

Or simply turning towards the fear and saying, “I see you.”

Discomfort strengthens resilience.

Waiting strengthens patience.

Fear strengthens courage.

And perhaps outlasting 99% of people isn’t about toughness.

It’s about tolerating what most people rush to escape.

Reflection Question:

What fear have you been trying to eliminate before acting and what would one small step toward it look like this week?