The fact that life exists is a fucking miracle
Growth is our love letter to The Universe.
The fact that life exists is a fucking miracle.
The fact that your life exists is another fucking miracle.
Which is like, miracles squared or something, look—I don’t know how miracle math works, I just know that with this amount of miracles it feels kinda obligatory to live a life worth living.
A life worth living is one that shows love and gratitude to The Universe™. And you can wake up and look in the mirror and say, “thank you The Universe for allowing me to exist, today is a beautiful day,” and while I actually think that’s a pretty cool way to get your morning going, it isn’t the greatest display of love and gratitude because The Universe would actually like you to stop staring in the mirror and get outside and live your fucking life.
Imitation is the greatest form of flattery.
The Universe is constantly expanding.
So, we should be constantly expanding, too.
Expansion as a human means growth. And growth requires going outside our comfort zone. When we do this, we develop skills we often don’t even need in our practical day-to-day life, but then the things we do encounter are suddenly a lot easier.
Weightlifting is an easy visual: when we pick up a heavy thing, our muscles tear a tiny bit in the process. When muscles grow back, they’re bigger and stronger because they’re expecting us to pick up those heavy things again.
GOTCHA muscles. It’s just a lot easier to carry in the groceries.
When we read a book on hostage negotiation, our brain is primed because it’s expecting us to deescalate a life and death situation.
GOTCHA brain. It’s just a lot easier to negotiate $5,000 more a year from our boss.
In order to expand, grow, and become the most dynamic version of ourselves, we have to move through pain and discomfort:
When we stay inside our comfort zone, it actually feels easier.
But only for a little bit.
Long term, the effects are pretty shit:
When we’re in our comfort zone, we’re no longer expanding. We aren’t reaching for our potential. Our world becomes small. We end up atrophying.
People do this all the time:
“I’m not comfortable traveling to a country where they don’t speak English.”
“I’m in a toxic relationship because I’m too afraid of being alone.”
“I’ve been single for a long time because I’m uncomfortable going on a date.”
“I blamed them because I couldn’t admit I was wrong.”
“I didn’t speak up because I don’t think my opinion matters.”
Each of these scenarios offers an opportunity—move through the discomfort and learn: a new language, the beauty of solitude, how to meet new people, embrace humility, cultivate self-worth. And do it now, not “I’ll start on Monday” or whatever bullshit we tell ourselves.
Do it now.
Put $5/week into a retirement account starting at age 5? By the time you’re 65, you’d have around $680,000. If you start at age 31 like most Americans1, you’d only have around $41,000.
That said, there are times in our life when we need to retreat and heal and recover—from heartbreak, from a physical injury, from moving across the country, from the burnout of a job we despise.
But let’s make sure it’s truly a season of recovery and not avoidance as a way of life.
Avoiding expansion and always choosing comfort as the way to exist is a giant “fuck you” to The Universe.
And if you feel uncomfortable reading that, you may want to stop and ask yourself, “why?” After all, on the other side of that discomfort… the possibilities are endless.
Move through discomfort.
Expand your world.
Show love and gratitude to The Universe.
Because the fact that life exists is a fucking miracle squared.
According to data from various financial studies, including those by institutions like Nationwide, the average American starts saving for retirement at age 31.
Comfort is a warm cozy blanket soaked in chloroform