I believe there is a battle within each of us. It is a war about our life and what we are working towards. Are we working toward comfort or effectiveness? What is the predominant driver in our life?
Comfort
Our culture has emphasized comfort. We value the pursuit of happiness. The American dream is to have two cars, a picket fence around a perfect house, 2.5 kids, and to relax in retirement.
Everyone around us appears to be working toward comfort. So, it’s easy to think that this is what is good and valued. If we think differently about it, we begin to wonder if there is something wrong with us. So it appears that “comfort” is winning the battle for our hearts and minds.
A part of us does want comfort. It feels safe, and it feels good. We are attracted to the thought of sitting next to a fire with a cup of something hot while it’s raining outside.
Effectiveness
The truth is that comfort isn’t fulfilling. If we ask ourselves better questions and truly dig into what we hold as the highest value, very few of us would find “comfort” at the top of the list.
On occasion, I have the opportunity to get a shuttle ride, either from the car service shop or on services like Lyft or Uber. I usually ask the driver about them, and their story. Often, the driver will say something like, “I’m officially retired, but I found that I couldn’t just sit at home all the time, and I could only play so many rounds of golf before it felt empty. I needed something to do, so I found this job.” Our cultural ideal of retirement is not all that it’s cracked up to be.
Instead of comfort, what we truly desire is to be effective. We want to know that it mattered that we lived on this earth. We want to know that a lot of good things from us live on after we are done here. If we live and we die, and very little is different in the world, it feels meaningless.
Ultimately, what are you working toward? Are you working for comfort or effectiveness? Which is going to win your heart?
