Would you believe me if I told you that taking the stairs could change your life?
Michael Easter’s book, The Comfort Crisis, had a tremendous impact on me several years ago. He has a Substack called Two/Percent. It is a reference to a study that found when people were presented with stairs and an escalator next to each other, only 2% took the stairs.
We default to easy. We default to comfort. And yet, in many ways, the comfort we seek often creates other problems for us.
Thus, Michael Easter went on a mission to convince the world that we were suffering from a “Comfort Crisis” and that we need to intentionally seek discomfort. We need to make some things more difficult for our own good. We need to take the stairs.
He convinced me. Now I take the stairs. Literally and metaphorically.
Can I park a little farther away and walk a few extra steps?
Can I carry my bag rather than rolling it?
Can I exercise outside? In the cold?
But more than our bodies need the stairs. So do our minds.
Can I go for a walk or drive to work in silence rather than listening to music or a podcast?
Can I go for a few hours without looking at my phone?
There are all kinds of stairs: physical, mental, relational, and spiritual.
Although I imagine there are some stairs most of us can and should be taking (actual stairs, more silence, less phones), I imagine we each have some of our own unique examples of stairs. The important thing is that we are regularly doing difficult, uncomfortable things.
NOTE: I am not a glutton for punishment. I don’t want to be uncomfortable all the time. I am someone whose favorite possession is a towel warmer that allows me to have a nice warm towel after my shower every morning.
The goal is not to eliminate comfort.
The goal is not to be controlled and harmed by comfort.
We take the stairs so we can enjoy comfort.
How can you take the stairs today?
P.S. Did you find this post helpful? If so, I have two quick requests:
— First, would you subscribe to the blog? It is an encouragement to me.
— Second, who is one person you think would also benefit from this post? Would you mind forwarding it to them?
Thank you!
Good stuff. There’s a saying that I heard a while ago:
As you get older you can take stairs two at a time or pills two at a time.
So not only do I also always take the stairs, but I take them two at a time.