I have to admit, I am fascinated by the whole “cold plunge” trend that seems to be advertised as the best thing in personal health since the invention of CrossFit*. Basically, the idea is that submerging yourself in ice-cold water helps to detoxify your body and strengthen your immune system. That is if you can avoid the hypothermia. While I admit, I am fascinated by this trend, I have little to no desire to participate despite the advertised benefits. That’s because, to me, the level of discomfort required to participate seems to be much higher than the perceived benefit.

For most people, this is the typical decision-making matrix that we run every time we are faced with a decision. If we are going to do something, it has to be above the “discomfort vs. benefit line.” (Check out the graph*). What I mean is, if we are going to do something, it must provide more benefit than discomfort. Otherwise, our brains deem the task or discipline as “not worth it.”

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I came face to face with this matrix at a student ministry camp about 15 years ago. It was the end of the weekend, and we were offering students the opportunity to get baptized in the ocean. While this sounds like an amazing way to cap off a spiritually charged weekend there was one major challenge, it was January, and the water was extremely cold. There was no question that I and the other pastors there were getting in the water to baptize these students. The eternal benefit easily outweighed the temporary discomfort. So, I went in baptized two students, and headed for the shore. Honestly, it wasn’t as bad as I thought it would be, but it was still really cold. I began to dry off and could feel my internal temperature returning to its proper level. That’s when it happened. Another student came to me and asked if I would go back into the freezing water and baptize him. 

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After saying a few unkind words in my head and wrestling with the deep desire to tell him no, I finally said, “Yea man, let’s do it.” My brain was screaming, “It’s not worth it! It’s so cold! He missed his chance!” And yet, I went back into the waters, baptized him as fast as I could, and got back to the beach where my now cold, wet towel was waiting.

Here’s what I learned. Sometimes, our brains are really bad at deciding what’s “worth it.” Most psychologists will tell you that until the pain of staying the same is worse than the pain of changing, we will stay the same. This is why we often struggle to eat healthier, prioritize exercise, ditch bad habits, or make daily time to spend with God. That day, I learned that true life change happens when we’re willing to step in and fight through discomfort.

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Hebrews 12:11 speaks directly to this concept. It says, “No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it.” So, when faced with a difficult or challenging situation, know that discomfort often produces the best results. This can be true in most areas of life. Some of the greatest relationships are formed through uncomfortable or vulnerable conversations. We can get healthy when we’re willing to get uncomfortable in the gym or the kitchen. We can get to new spiritual heights when we’re willing to make the time to spend with God. Improvement in these areas and many others probably requires us to get uncomfortable by saying no to certain opportunities, by getting better at managing and allocating our time, or by setting our alarm clocks to go off a little earlier*. The point is, if you want to grow, you’re going to have to get uncomfortable.

What is an area of your life that you’ve let slip because improving would cost you your comfort? What is one small step you can take today to face down and fight through that discomfort? While in my head, that second trip into the freezing waters was going to be way worse than the first, it actually wasn’t nearly as bad. What I discovered was that the more we walk into those uncomfortable situations, the more comfortable they become. Take a small step, fight through the discomfort, then do it again. Before you know it, you’ll be on the other side shocked and amazed by what you can accomplish when you’re willing to wade into a little discomfort.

*If you didn’t know this about CrossFit, talk to a CrossFitter about anything for more than three minutes and they’ll tell you.

*Anyone who works with me can tell you I love graphing pretty much anything. So, I was super excited when the opportunity to include a graph in this post presented itself!

*My wife is 100 percent out on that last one!