In The Know #60: The Comfort Crisis & The Value of Endless Pursuits

Hi friends,

Another quick one, but hey, it’s been 4 weeks now and the ball is still rolling, so that’s something to celebrate. Hope it’s been a great week and you have something fun planned this weekend. I’ll be taking a page out of The Comfort Crisis and making myself quite uncomfortable tomorrow at the first bike race of the year here in NorCal. No expectations, just a healthy dose of ‘type 2’ fun with a good group of people. Wish me luck!

Jamie

---

---

😅 Book that inspired me to want to do more hard stuff — The Comfort Crisis, by Michael Easter

I believe I mentioned this book a few years ago after listening to a podcast with the author, Michael Easter, but I finally read (listened) to this book in its entirety and really enjoyed it. It’s essentially about how many of our modern mental and physical ailments are caused, in some way or another, by being too comfortable all the time. The author walks through various research about how modern life is sedating our human spirit and potential, interspersed with a story of a month-long caribou hunting expedition in Alaska. The biggest takeaway for me was the concept of “misogi” — the idea that once a year, you should take on a physical challenge that you believe you only have a 50% chance of completing. The rules are simple — don’t die(!), make it really hard, make it weird, and don’t advertise it. It had me thinking about a few ideas, and making this something to take on once a year with a small crew of friends. Here’s an article Easter wrote about misogi if you want to learn more without picking up the full book. And if you have any really hard and weird ideas, let me know!

🐳 My most frequently played album on Spotify right now — Baby Beluga, by Raffi

Yes, it’s embarrassing to list a children’s album here, but parenthood has a way of making you take yourself a lot less seriously in a real hurry, and when Ava yells out “baby booga!” with a huge smile on her face, it’s impossible to resist. Truth be told, apart from the obvious sing-a-longs, I’ve actually been enjoying a few of the tunes for my own sake. Thanks A Lot is a beautiful song that doesn’t need to be for kids, and it seems that Raffi has been singing about #gratitude long before it was hip.

🧐 Wisdom that resonated with me —

❝ Quote of the week — "The wedding is an event, love is a practice. The graduation is an event, education is a practice. The race is an event, fitness is a practice. The heart, mind, and body are endless pursuits." ~James Clear