The Biggest Problem with a Simple Life

What if I told you that a lot of the things you were trying to escape from are actually essential for a fulfilling life? 

If you’re a regular reader of No Sidebar, I have a pretty good idea of what you want. 

You want a simple, stress-free life. 

A life with fewer commitments, no schedule, and absolutely no one to tell you what to do. 

That’s totally fair, because I want that exact same thing.

And at random times during my somewhat short life, I’ve had it. 

You might think those times felt like heaven, and yes, initially they did. 

But as time went on, I realized I was missing a key ingredient that was making my life enjoyable. 

Discomfort. 

Discomfort is Never the Problem 

I think it’s a wonderful goal to remove as much excess crap from your life as possible.


That goes for material possessions as much as it does for situations and people that drain your energy. 

But it’s important to recognize that a lot of the discomfort in your life is coming from the things you’re trying to remove. 

You’re probably thinking, ‘well yeah, that’s why I’m trying to remove the damn things’. 

But discomfort isn’t the issue, and it never actually was. 

Whatever created us (that’s up to you), decided that discomfort would be a precursor to fulfillment. 

I hate that as much as you do, but I think you’ll agree with me that hard, annoying situations ultimately make our lives better in the long run. 

So if you do believe that to be true, then what do you think will happen when you try to erase discomfort completely from your life? 

The Problem with Removing Discomfort

I can tell you what will happen – you’ll stop growing. 

Without discomfort in your life, you’ll rarely be pushing or challenging yourself in physical, mental, or social situations. 

The more you indulge in your new-found comfort, the more you’ll be staying exactly where you are. 

Eventually, you almost become allergic to discomfort. 

And if you become allergic to discomfort, you also become allergic to what sits on the other side of it – growth. 

This doesn’t happen straight away, it slowly creeps up on you, and I think that’s what makes it so terrifying. 

When I finally had the life I wanted, away from deadlines, meaningless work and people that annoyed me, I felt wonderful. 

But the longer time went on, the more I realized this level of comfort and stagnation wasn’t good for me. 

Us humans aren’t really meant to be staying still.

Something is wired in our brains to keep us moving forward and pushing ourselves into new environments. 

Most of us are forced to do this our entire lives, but when it’s something we no longer have to do, we lose a vital part of what it means to be human. 

So, what’s the answer?

As I wrote earlier, discomfort is not the issue. 

The issue is forced discomfort. 

A tough situation that is forced upon you is 10x more painful than a tough situation of your choosing. 

So, if you want to live a simple life that actually fulfills you, then I have a better goal for you to work towards. 

Instead of eliminating discomfort entirely, what if you tried to turn forced discomforts into chosen discomforts?

Again, I think it’s wonderful to get rid of discomforts that are forced upon you – work you hate, bosses you hate, situations you hate… the list goes on. 

But if or when you do get rid of those discomforts, you must replace them with chosen discomforts. 

Think of it like this: it’s not so much about eliminating every little thing that’s pissing you off or making you uncomfortable, but more about getting to a position where you can intentionally choose what remains. 

There are three main areas of my life that I’ve identified this to be critical – work, physical, and mental. 

On work:

I’m trying to replace forced, meaningless work with work that’s far more meaningful to me. 

I’ve been writing on the internet for more than two years, going through the discomfort of organizing my very messy and cluttered thoughts in a way that other people can understand.

Finding and actually pursuing work that’s meaningful to you takes effort and requires you to figure out things that you have absolutely no idea about (that’s the whole point). 

On the mental:

Most of my mental discomfort comes from the meaningful work I’m trying to pursue.

To keep your mind active and growing, you need to be either getting better at something, or building something that has value to you. 

This can be learning a language or an instrument, creating and selling a product, or creating content around something you’re passionate about. 

Anything that stretches your creative mind or forces you to put yourself out there (both are uncomfortable). 

On the physical:


I push my body as often as I can. I run a few times each week and go to the gym 4–5 times per week.

Pushing yourself physically will make you appreciate the comforts of your life so much more.

And one last thing…

These things that you’re desperately trying to avoid may actually be serving a deeper purpose.

Believe it or not, responsibilities you’re sick of dealing with can keep your life stable while you try to figure things out. 

This is what I’ve found to be true in my own life.

You might hate your job, but its stability is giving you financial breathing room to experiment with creative work.

You might be sick of your routine, but it’s providing the structure needed to actually follow through on the things that matter to you and put in the work to get to where you want to be. 

Sometimes the things you want so desperately to get rid of are supporting the life you’re trying to build.

Building towards a simple life is a slow process, and you can’t just scrap everything that doesn’t interest you all at once. 

I’ve tried that. 

I’ve quit a few jobs on the spot believing I could somehow attain this simplicity instantly, but I always inevitably ended up having to, very reluctantly, get a job again.

Start looking at these somewhat unavoidable things (for now) as mere stepping stones to get to where you want to be. 

It helps put things in perspective, and each time you have to deal with that annoying thing that you really don’t want to be doing, you can remind yourself it’s all part of the plan.

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About the Author: Jack Waters is a former journalist turned creative thinker and writer, on a mission to become better every day and live a more fulfilling life.