Why do some people drive change while others are blindsided by it? Why are some people able to adapt and thrive? How can we make change easier? Truly successful people don’t merely tolerate discomfort—they embrace it and seek it out again and again. Business founders and university students, top athletes and couch potatoes, meditation gurus and military leaders all have very different ways of coping with discomfort, but the most successful among them believe that withstanding discomfort is a skill that has helped them in hugely positive ways. Some were forced into discomfort through no choice of their own—a life-altering illness, a business fiasco—while others signed up for it because they had goals they were determined to achieve. Some degree of discomfort is inherently good for you. It can spur you on, pushing you to test your own limits. Learning to tolerate, and then embrace, discomfort is the foundation for change, for individuals and businesses alike. Becoming comfortable with discomfort won’t just make us more resilient and more successful, however we define success. It will also make us happier.
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I had great hopes for “The Beauty of Discomfort” as I am a self-improvement junkie and this book was released at a time when I was undergoing a great change in my life. I expected to find some solace, direction or connection in Amanda Lang's latest and was sure that I was going love it, but that wasn't the case.
Perhaps it's because I have read a plethora of books on the topics of fear and anxiety and on opposite topics - love and mindfulness - that this book made me yawn. I didn't learn anything new and the individual examples (akin to reading case studies) of change and discomfort in each chapter seemed to drag on. There were a few that kept my attention (I'm a big uber and NBA fan so I wasn't tempted to skim read those) but overall I wouldn't have actually finished this book if I didn't receive it as an advanced reader copy from HarperCollins Canada (thanks folks!); I was committed to giving an honest review.
Now, this book might have a bigger impact on someone who is exploring the topic of discomfort and navigating change for the first time but, with all the weighty examples, the “how to's” for dealing with discomfort get lost in the mix. It's interesting enough if a person isn't looking to dig deep into themselves, but instead just wants a general overview of what they can do when they feel stuck in life. A self-help book would certainly be more conducive to achieving lasting successful change.
