วิกฤตความสบาย
เคยคิดหรือไม่ว่าคุณจะเป็นอยู่อย่างไรหากย้อนเวลากลับไปได้? ย้อนไปสมัยก่อนมีทีวีและก่อนที่ต้องทำงาน 09.00-17.00? หรือพูดง่ายๆ ก่อนที่ความสะดวกสบายและสิ่งเย้ายวนจะเข้ามาในชีวิตเรา?
The Comfort Crisis ท้าทายแนวคิดเรื่องความสะดวกสบายในชีวิตของเรา และพูดถึงประสบการณ์ของผู้ประพันธ์เมื่อเขาตัดสินใจลองที่จะก้าวออกมาจากความสบาย
Michael Easter แสดงให้เราเห็นว่า การจงใจเพิ่มความรู้สึกไม่สบายกลับเข้ามาในชีวิตของเรานั้น สามารถฟื้นพลังทางจิตใจ ร่างกาย และจิตวิญญาณที่เราควรจะมีอยู่ได้อย่างไร และช่วยให้เราเติบโตทั้งในด้านส่วนตัวและในอาชีพ จนถึงระดับที่เราอาจเคยคิดว่าเป็นไปไม่ได้ก่อนหน้านี้
The Comfort Crisis - Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self
Michael Easter
Published by Rodale Books, 2021
The Comfort Crisis addresses contemporary people who live a stressful life and talks about being comfortable with discomfort and reclaiming a happy, healthy mindset by implementing a few odd, but highly effective practices in their daily lives.
2. Michael Easter
Published by Rodale Books, 2021
The Comfort Crisis addresses contemporary people who live a stressful life and talks about being
comfortable with discomfort and reclaiming a happy, healthy mindset by implementing a few odd,
but highly effective practices in their daily lives.
3. เกี่ยวกับผู้ประพันธ์
Michael Easter เป็นผู้ที่นาวิทยาศาสตร์สมัยใหม่มาผสมผสานกับภูมิปัญญาเชิง
วิวัฒนาการ เพื่อสุขภาพ ความหมาย และประสิทธิภาพที่ดีขึ้ น ในชีวิตและที่ทางาน
เขาเดินทางไปทั่วโลกเพื่อพบปะกับนักวิทยาศาสตร์ นักคิด และผู้คนที่ฉลาดหลัก
แหลมที่มักถูกมองข้าม และเผยแพร่สิ่งที่ค้นพบและประสบการณ์ที่ดีที่สุดของเขาใน
หนังสือ บทความ และสื่ออื่นๆ
เขาเป็นศาสตราจารย์ที่ UNLV และเป็ นผู้ร่วมก่อตั้ง Public Communications Institute
ซึ่งเป็นหน่วยงานด้านความคิดของมหาวิทยาลัย Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV) ที่
ดาเนินการวิจัยด้านการสื่อสารทางวิทยาศาสตร์ และช่วยให้องค์กรภาครัฐและ
เอกชนปรับข้อความที่ซับซ้อนให้เข้ากับผู้ชมจานวนมาก
21. 3 บทเรียนจากหนังสือ
1. สร้างพิธีกรรมตามทางของคุณเอง เพื่อทาให้ร่างกายและจิตใจแข็งแกร่งขึ้ น (Create your own rites
of passage to toughen up your body and mind)
2. ต่อสู้กับความเหงา โดยอยู่คนเดียวในธรรมชาติชั่วขณะหนึ่ง (Combat loneliness by staying alone
in nature for a while)
3. ชีวิตจะดีขึ้ นเมื่อคุณไม่พึ่งพาสิ่งต่างๆ เพื่อความสุขของคุณ แต่ใช้ชีวิตอย่างเรียบง่ายแทน (Life is
better when you don’t depend on things for your happiness but live simply instead)
The Comfort Crisis addresses contemporary people who live a stressful life and talks about being comfortable with discomfort and reclaiming a happy, healthy mindset by implementing a few odd, but highly effective practices in their daily lives.
Michael Easter is a leading voice on how humans can integrate modern science and evolutionary wisdom for improved health, meaning, and performance in life and at work. He travels the globe to embed himself with brilliant but often overlooked scientists, thinkers, and people living at the extremes and shares the best of his findings and experiences in books, articles, and other media.
When he’s not on the ground reporting, Michael is a professor at UNLV. He co-founded and co-directs of the Public Communications Institute, a think tank at the University of Nevada Las Vegas (UNLV). It conducts science communications research and helps public and private organizations adapt complex messaging to mass audiences.
Did you ever think about how it would be to just wake up one day back in time? Back to a time before TVs existed and before 9-5 was even a thing? Or simply put, before the comfort and the mundane took over our lives?
The Comfort Crisis challenges the idea of comfort in our lives and talks about the author’s experiences once he decided to step away from it.
Michael Easter shows us how intentionally adding discomfort back into our lives can revive the mental, physical and spiritual vitality we are meant to have, and help us grow personally and professionally to levels we may have thought previously impossible.
It’s not every day that you see someone purposefully giving up their highly digitized life, their favorite couch spot, and their little rituals.
However, the author decided to embark on this life-changing experience. He wanted to try out his ancestor’s way of living by camping in Alaska for one month. And during this time, he had to switch to survival mode.
While it wasn’t the easiest thing to do, he’s learned many valuable lessons along the way.
It’s easy to make the case that we are currently living at the most comfortable time in history. A lot of things are accessible to us with a push of a button. From getting information, entertainment, and even communicating over long distances, there’s an app to solve our problems.
According to the US CDC, 73.6% of Americans are either overweight or obese. That said, Obesity is a global problem, with at least 2.8 million people dying from it each year.
Our mental health is not exactly doing great either. Nearly 8 in 10 adults say the coronavirus pandemic is a significant source of stress in their lives, as reported by the American Psychological Association.
One of the things Michael wants to point out is that we tend to take for granted how good we have it nowadays because we are constantly surrounded by convenience and comfort. We can’t really appreciate them unless there were periods of struggle or challenges to acquire them.
It’s like going to your favorite restaurant almost every day compared to only going after a long and tiring business trip.
You tend to appreciate it more compared to when you are having the same thing almost every day.
Michael talks about how children are raised differently nowadays.
Some parents only let their children do what they think is best, rather than letting the children experience it themselves. This often leads to mental health issues when they go out into the world. They can’t cope with the daily struggles and challenges because they weren’t allowed to experience them beforehand.
Michael explains this concept as toughening. He adds that it is important that we insert real challenges in our lives from time to time. Not only as we are growing up, but even as adults.
Humans have only been comfortable for around 100 years. Before that we had to use our bodies to find food, shelter and water, and we had to use our minds or other tribe members to entertain ourselves when bored. We had to get creative.
People are overweight and soft because we no longer have real challenges in our lives.
People had simpler needs that were easier to fulfil and were more able to live in the present.
Studies show that people living in cities have higher rates of anxiety and depression than people living in the country. Even though they earn more money and city living is more convenient and comfortable.
Why are we happier in the country? More space? Nature? Slower pace? Fewer people?
We have become detached from the things that make us feel happy and alive, like connection, being in nature, effort and perseverance.
This is sitting or walking in the woods taking in nature. Japanese studies have found that 15 minutes of this reduces blood pressure, stress hormones, anxiety and depression.
A study in 2016 found that a 20 minute stroll in a city park can cause changes in neurological structure of our brains, leaving us feeling calmer, sharper, more productive and creative.
The 3 day effect is spending 3 days in wild back country. This has enormous positive effects on your body and mind. It takes 3 days for the process to work. They recommend doing this once per year.
They say 150 people is the ideal amount to have in your tribe. Any bigger than this and it gets complicated with social and political issues.
Gore-Tex split their offices into groups of 150 people and they credit this for their success.
Studies show that most people would rather get a mild electric shock than spend time alone.
We should get used to being in solitude. It can enhance creativity, empathy and decrease self-consciousness.
Studies show that the average American touches their phone over 2000 times a day. They spend almost 3 hours looking at the small screen. We never allow ourselves to get bored or go into “unfocused” mode. This is where our creativity and problem solving happens.
Every time we look at our phones we are putting our minds in “focused” mode. We are consuming and processing what we see. This is like lifting weights for our brains. But we never give it time in the unfocused mode to let it recover.
Research shows that the onslaught of screen based media has created people who are increasingly picky, impatient, distracted and demanding. When we get bored we no longer have to find a creative/productive outlet. We just look at our phones. We consume instead of producing.
In the past people would play music, draw, paint or write when they were bored.
Most sleep problems are caused by too much noise and inadequate darkness. We are surrounded by too much noise these days. Our brains are wired to think “Loud = Danger”. We react by releasing adrenaline, stress hormones that kick us into fight or flight responses. Today, the noises are constant so it is like a slow drip of stress hormones.
Hearing the natural sounds we evolved in seems to strike a calming note within us (which brings us back to why we should spend more time in nature).
Real hunger: the body requires food to function. It fills a physiological need. Its like having an empty gas tank.
Reward hunger: this pops up when we are stressed, celebrating or there are appetizing foods around. Reward hunger played an integral part of evolution by compelling us to eat past fullness. This is stored as fat and used when we had to go without food.
Doing hard physical things calluses the mind and makes everything else easier.
Doing a range of physical activities (crawling, squatting, hanging, carrying etc..) regularly seems to be the what’s best for back pain. Not sitting all day then doing a one hour workout at the gym.
While the term originally referred to a Japanese Shinto practice of ritual purification by washing the entire body, it has been adapted by Dr. Marcus Elliott to refer to using epic challenges in nature to “reset” the mind, body and spirit and expand your capabilities.
There are two rules to a Misogi as Elliot defines it. First, it has to be REALLY hard – with only a 50 percent chance of success. Second is, you can’t die. In other words, it has to be relatively safe.
The idea is, if you have picked an appropriately hard task, you are going to hit a point where you think you cannot keep going (where you have reached your edge), but if you are able to keep going, you are going to have a moment where you can look back and say, ‘I thought my edge was back there, but now I’m clearly past it, so I’ve sold myself short here.’
This means impermanence. The Bhutan think about death a lot. This makes them realize that nothing is permanent. If you don’t think this way you can start to think “Things will be better when I do X”.
When you understand nothing is permanent you cannot help but follow a happier path.
Researchers have found that thinking about death enhances gratitude.
3 lessons learn from the book
1. Create your own rites of passage to toughen up your body and mind.
2. Combat loneliness by staying alone in nature for a while.
3. Life is better when you don’t depend on things for your happiness but live simply instead.
Lesson 1: Challenging yourself and going through life’s hardships unsheltered will help you grow
We are currently living in a life of utmost comfort. We have constant access to food, shelter, entertainment of all sorts, and whatnot.
Growing up, there aren’t many physical challenges we have to face. And ever since helicopter parenting took over, children are being sheltered from the smallest inconveniences and obstacles. However, it’s only in recent history that humans started to live like this.
In fact, our species was used to fighting for their food, seeking shelter, and facing many obstacles on the way.
Our ancestors were always on the go and had little access to comfort. And yet, they were so much happier than us. They were living in the present and appreciated the smallest things.
Unlike ourselves, who face high-performing anxiety, burnout, and serious mental and emotional issues.
On his quest to become more grounded and discover his true identity and roots, the author found out that stripping himself away from all of his daily addictions proved to be life-saving.
He came back stronger, more focused, and with fewer worries on his mind. As such, he advises that everyone should try to ditch their physical comfort zone.
Instead, we should aim to expose ourselves to our own rites of passage or build our physical endurance.
By doing so, one will discover new emotions and build strength from the core.
Studies suggest that going through such experiences can enhance health levels as well. The key is to find a balance between comfort and challenging situations.
If you get out of your shelter just for a bit, you’ll find that life isn’t always pink. You will also learn to appreciate everything you have on another level.
Lesson 2: Being by yourself in nature can help you connect with yourself and feel less lonely
In a world dominated by technology, which allows us to stay in contact with each other at all times, nearly 50% of Americans claim that they feel lonely.
Could it be because experiencing virtual encounters can only take our social needs so far?
Or perhaps, we never have time to hear our own thoughts, and feel disconnected from our own identity, thus making it hard to form meaningful connections?
Whichever the case may be, the author discovered that being alone in nature allowed him to combat loneliness.
Something as simple as enjoying the natural world can tame the mind chatter and give you a moment of complete silence, which is something we get to experience quite rare nowadays.
Whether we realize it or not, we’re never truly by ourselves. We’re surrounded by neighbors in our compact buildings, by our phones, TV, and laptops which keep us connected all day long, and last but not least, by the people we share our homes with.
Solitude is a rare gem, and so experiencing it can help you reconnect with the most important person in the world – yourself.
Allowing your mind, body, and spirit to sync and deepen your connection with yourself can help you strengthen your sense of identity and feel good about being by yourself.
Ironically, once you get comfortable in your own skin, people will start to like you more as well. However, the most important part is to find yourself and tame loneliness in the process.
A good place to start this self-searching journey is, as previously mentioned, nature. But how can you do so?
Simply put, just stare at trees, animals, and the beauty of our ecosystem, instead of your phone or any other screen. Allow yourself to get bored. In fact, it’s particularly important to go through certain emotions that come when you disconnect yourself from comfort and security.
Only then you will find your true self, the one that is creative, untamed, relaxed, and happy.
Lesson 3: Ditch the unnecessary comforts in your life and embrace a rather traditional lifestyle
When you’re hungry, chances are you go to the fridge to grab something, or even better, order it from the comfort of your own home.
The same goes for when you feel tired, you can easily go to your house and find your bed, or perhaps when you feel bored, chances are you’ll grab your phone and splurge on the many apps it has.
Frankly, life isn’t supposed to be lived like this, and doing so is what makes us unhappy.
Having everything ready to be consumed keeps our brain inactive, and makes our body always crave more, as the dopamine secretion diminishes or becomes inexistent as we find our resources available at any given time.
Hence, it’s time for a change.
The author suggests that a good place to start is by distinguishing craving from real hunger. Are you feeding your body fuel for the day, or simply exciting your taste buds?
Try to eat only when you’re hungry, and after a glass of water. Fasting has immense health benefits, so you could give it a try as well. Feel comfortable with hunger, and allow your body to go through this process just a bit before you feed him.
Moreover, he addresses the importance of exercising outside, in nature, preferably by carrying some weights.
Our ancestors did so, and their bodies were at their peak! Exercise improves mood and helps your brain produce more dopamine, which will increase happiness.
The Comfort Crisis addresses the importance of ditching the unnecessary comforts in our life, which may look like they’re helping us carry on with our days more easily, but in fact, they strip us from our happiness.
In a world where all necessary resources are one fingertip away, the author decided to embark on a journey to Alaska to know a life without security. In return, he improved his self-confidence, became more grounded, then came back to tell everyone the remarkable benefits of living a simpler life by giving up on the day-to-day comforts.