Simmering is magic.
Too often we live at room temperature or boiling over. It's vital to learn how to simmer. Simmering is forward focused, sustainable yet challenging, and a key to achieving your goals, whether they be health related or otherwise.
An obsession with comfort will deter you from discovering your full potential. In his book, The Comfort Crisis, Michael Easter wrote:
“In many ways, we’re more comfortable than ever before. But could our sheltered, temperature-controlled, overfed, under-challenged lives actually be the leading cause of many of our most urgent physical and mental health issues?”
The short answer is yes. This is readily apparent in various life experiences.
Last week I had a long cycling workout scheduled. When it comes to physical training each athlete has a line, what is called a threshold intensity, where intensities under the threshold can be maintained for long durations, intensities at the threshold start the clock of pending fatigue, and intensities above the threshold can only be sustained for short durations before a physiological “blow up.”
My scheduled ride consisted of long intervals just below my calculated threshold for bike output—what should be sustainably uncomfortable. Each interval followed the exact same internal dialogue pattern. Initially, it felt too hard, “There is no way I can sustain this for the full interval.” A little while later, “I think I can actually hold this effort.” Finally, “I got this!” Just as I summitted the mountaintop the interval ended, followed by a brief period of easy pedaling, before the next interval started at a slightly higher intensity. Repeat for for awhile and my bike fitness is sure to be increasing!
Unfortunately, the initial discomfort causes many people to pull back (not excluding me from time to time). This is not, obviously, only limited to exercise. The same patterns and effects are repeated in all aspects. If you only ever engage in superficial conversations rather than exploring areas of uncomfortable dialogue your relationships will never grow deeper. If you only watch TV and consume content from people whom share your point of view your intellect will never sharpen. And if you quit your quest to eat healthy after only a few days of trying you may never realize that real wholesome food can be even more appetizing and feel the sure benefits of being well nourished. Comfort can truly be a crisis.
Be mindful of the other end of the spectrum, though, as over exertion for too long of a period can lead to ruin too. That’s why simmering is the ideal state. As you already know, I love my oatmeal; it’s my favorite food, hands down. If the water is on the stove without any heat nothing happens, but once the heat is turned on there’s a fine line between a sustainable simmer and boiling chaos. The key to a good bowl of oatmeal, and progressing personally, is hunting the line. Find your simmer, train yourself to be comfortable in the discomfort, and you will avoid being “sheltered, temperature-controlled, overfed, under-challenged.”
With Love,
JSR
