5 Ways to Introduce Positive Stress Into Your Life

Do you strive to become a more resilient man, with the ability to recover from failure and disappointment and bounce right back to your original state?

If so, that’s a definitely a good thing – it’s so much better than having to rely on others to stay in the game. But in my opinion, if you try to be JUST resilient, you might actually still end up losing in life in the end.

Why? Because resilience doesn’t require you to grow – it just requires you to “bounce back” to how you were before. Resilience doesn’t require you to get as strong as you can be – it just requires you to be “strong enough” to bounce back.

And in a life that never gets easier, resilience sets you up for failure.

So here’s what I suggest instead – constantly introduce some form of discomfort into your life, and constantly work towards overcoming that discomfort. Discomfort – positive stress – is what makes men stronger. And the true test of strength and leadership isn’t when things are going smoothly – it happens during moments of discomfort and crisis.

In a sense, if you want to become truly strong, you need to become comfortable with discomfort. And you do that by intentionally adding some form of positive stress into your life, a little at a time, until you grow to overcome it naturally. It’s that growth that will lead you to greatness.

Here are a few ways to introduce slight discomfort in your life that’s been proven to make you stronger, happier, and more successful:

#1: Get Up Before Sunrise.

The difference between average men and men who change the world is that the latter group get up before sunrise. They give themselves a few hours’ head start on the world, getting more work done and achieving more of their goals in less time. It’s extremely uncomfortable, but sacrificing a few hours of TV at night to go to bed earlier will pay off when you start getting up before sunrise and getting your goals out of the way.

#2: Work Out Three Times a Week.

This can be truly uncomfortable if you don’t work out regularly. But anyone in the military will tell you that physical fitness will lead to mental fitness, which will help you weather the storms you’ll face at home and in the workplace. If you’re not a fit guy, that’s fine – just do what exercise you can, and work your way up as you get stronger.

#3: Track Your Expenses.

Another uncomfortable habit to form, tracking every single expense you make can be a pain. But it pays off when at the end of the month, you’ll know exactly how much you spend and how much you save. Staying on top of your finances is one of the keys to financial security, and it starts with tracking your expenses… so start now.

#4: Focus on One Leadership-Development Project at a Time.

When trying to improve yourself, it’s tempting to try out many different projects at the same time. Unfortunately, this spreads your efforts too thinly, and you never get anywhere. Instead, work on only one leadership-development project – preferably the one that will make the biggest positive impact on your life in the least amount of time – and leave the others in the backburner for now.

#5: Pray.

This is super-uncomfortable for many men – not only do they have too many things to do during the day, but they also live in a society that makes it harder and harder to believe in a “higher power.” But prayer (talking to God) and meditation (listening to God) will reward you in so many ways – all scientifically proven – and there’s no reason not to squeeze it in.

It doesn’t take a lot of time. I suggest you pray twice a day – once in the morning, and once at night, when they don’t get in the way too much. And if you don’t know what to pray for, then simply be thankful – you can’t go wrong with gratitude, and it’s a great way to form a relationship with the divine.

So get comfortable with discomfort. Remember – if you’re not growing, you’re shrinking. You never stay still. But if you keep growing, you’ll stay ready for whatever life throws at you.

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Photo: Getty Images