Member-only story
The Swamp of Comfort makes Self-Improvement Impossible
Finding the right conditions for change
How well are you right now, on a scale from 1 to 100? where 1 is ‘The Pit of Doom, I am going to die the next second, everything is unbearable’ and 100 is ‘Elysium, I am perfect and everything in my life is perfect, I cannot imagine anything better.’
Think of the answer, I will wait.
If your answer is 10 or less, then you are in the Pit of Doom. You are in a very very very bad state.
If your answer is 90 or less, then you are on the Peak of Paradise. You are in a very very very good state.
If your answer is between 11 and 89, then you are in the Swamp of Comfort. Most people are here most of the time. Hedonistic adaptation indicates this is the natural state towards we tend regardless of outside circumstances.
There is nothing wrong with the Swamp of Comfort. It’s not a bad place to be. Anywhere above 60 is pretty good.
Yet this state of relative wellness inhibits you from changing your behaviour, and your life.
