Why You Should Do Hard Things

I’ve written about the benefits of doing hard things before. Here I explain how doing unpleasant things can increase our happiness and here I discuss how short bursts of stress can trigger biological processes that enhance health, slow aging, and make us more resilient.

Since most of us don’t like doing hard things, I wanted to write more about why discomfort is so beneficial for our minds and bodies. In The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter reminds of us that our ancestors regularly faced hardships such as constant movement, bursts of intense exercise when hunting, fasting when food was scarce, eating plants that contained low levels of toxins, and exposure to extreme temperatures. While modern conveniences have made life far more comfortable, they’ve distanced us from the challenging conditions our bodies evolved to handle. This mismatch between our evolutionary design and our current lifestyle is contributing to rising levels of disease and unhappiness.

Our bodies are equipped with natural defense systems called cellular stress responses that help repair damage and protect us. These responses are triggered by certain types of stress. By adding some good stress back into our lives, we can activate these responses and tap into our bodies’ natural capacity to heal, regenerate, and build resilience.

The science behind this is both fascinating and complex. Dr. Sharon Bergquist explains it well in her book, The Stress Paradox. Basically, stress disrupts our internal balance, prompting the body to activate its natural defense systems to restore equilibrium.

Dr. Bergquist identifies five stressors that can make a meaningful impact on our health:

1. Eat a variety of plant toxins. Phytochemicals in plants act like natural pesticides. They are mild toxins intended to discourage us from eating them. However, when we ingest them in small amounts, they activate numerous pathways that help protect against disease. Eat more plants!
2. Practice intermittent bursts of movement. Exercise is one of the best forms of good stress, enhancing our cells’ ability to produce energy efficiently. When we exercise, chemicals are released that reduce inflammation, help repair DNA, and protect against cancer. Aim for 150 minutes of moderate-intensity exercise each week.
3. Experience extremes of heat and cold. Cold exposure activates brown fat, which burns energy to warm you up, supporting better metabolic and cardiovascular health. Heat exposure has similar effects as exercise, helping to lower blood pressure and blood sugar levels. Both cold and heat exposure activate the body’s antioxidant and anti-inflammatory responses. Embrace saunas, hot tubs, cold showers, and cold plunges!
4. Endure periods of food scarcity. Fasting improves metabolic flexibility, which is the body’s ability to switch from using glucose to burning stored fat for energy. Limiting your eating window to around 10 hours a day can help prevent insulin resistance, a key contributor to many chronic diseases. Fasting also reduces inflammation and oxidative stress, supports DNA repair, clears out cellular waste, and boosts energy.
5. Engage in deliberate psychological challenges. The right amount of psychological stress changes our brain chemistry and nervous system, enhancing cognitive abilities and helping us better handle future challenges. When stress is short term and manageable, rather than chronic, it can lead to personal growth and a sense of accomplishment. Seek out challenges and pursue creative activities that require critical thinking.