Seeking Discomfort
[Applause]
a man
was laying on his deathbed literally
seconds before his death
and in that moment in which he’s
reflecting upon his entire life
he was asked one question
what do you regret most to that he
paused
and then said that he does not regret
the things he did
but the things he didn’t do the risks he
never took the dreams he didn’t pursue
unfortunately this is the reality of
almost 78
of today’s human population 78
live a life ultimately not worth living
and you can imagine how i fed like as
little kid upon knowing this fact
i was basically losing my life but but
there is good news what if i told you
that there is one thing one thing and
one thing only
that if executed in your daily life will
grant your life
with no regrets two words
seek discomfort two words that unites
ancient philosophers to 21st century
teens
two words that will change your life
but but what is discomfort and and why
should you pursue something so strange
something filled with
fears doubts uncertainty and pain
well seeking discomfort is just saying
yes
period yes to risks yesterday challenges
yes to dreams
and yes to life and and i’m not saying
you should spend all your money for a
trip to mount everest
but i’m not saying you shouldn’t and
that is the point
and speaking about mountains in july of
2017 i got the opportunity to climb
egypt’s tallest mountain and as the
adventurous kid that i was i said yes
without much needed consideration and
for you i got an exact map of the
mountain
kindly notice all the possible routes
and pathways that a kid
could get lost in so you know
how hard would it be if we just climb up
and climb back down
easy at least i thought but
as the fat kid that i was i was
unexpectedly last
slacking behind almost two hours late on
schedule
but with the motivation of my leader and
the commitment of my mates
we finally peaked finally
every problem in my entire life has been
resolved
finally no pain no stress just peace
with the cold breeze of wind in my face
and the people of all cultures
praying together it was awful
well it wasn’t actually the case it was
really hot i was starving i was thirsty
it was and the pain grew more and more
severe with every
single step and the strange thought came
to mind
i needed to actually hike back down and
another strange thought came to mind
i needed to hike back down in two hours
less than average which is physically
impossible
and so alongside my leader we took a
decision
we decided to take a shortcut in egypt’s
tallest mountain
and that quickly became the single worst
decision
of our entire lives and the next eight
hours quickly became the worst view
of my life trying to move between razor
sharp mountains and
poisonous plants it was awful and
with the mental pain and discomfort
coming with doubt uncertainty and fears
at that moment i realized what
discomfort truly is
discomfort isn’t just physical
discomfort can be both emotional
and mental and at that same exact moment
i wanted to overcome that fear i wanted
to get
out of the mountain in one piece period
and then suddenly every single
negative thought turned into a positive
one fear is sent into motivation
and comfort and we actually made it with
the help of a dog we made it
and we escaped egypt’s tallest mountain
and the more of the story is that
seeking this comfort
will always be worth it will always be
better we’ll always
make every experience good like
we got to discover places in the
mountain unseen for thousands of years
and that is the worth that had to come
with
discomfort but but as the teens of the
21st century we need something practical
we need something everyday we need
something in an organized system
a checklist would do the trick so may i
present you
a comprehensive checklist to overcome
any fear
first know your motivation what do you
want
to achieve what is your purpose what is
your motivation
from overcoming that fear and keep that
in mind
next you need to define your fear
what are you most afraid of what are you
most scared of
and keep that in mind next you need to
identify the obstacle
what is that thing stopping you from
overcoming that fear
you also need to keep that in mind next
you need to visualize all possible
outcomes
visualize two things your nightmare and
the best possible outcome
so you have a spectrum of possible
events inside your head
next you need to find the people who
will push you find the people who love
you enough
to push you off the cliff and that is
the point
that reaches the commitment commit
commit
commit put in the work and jump the
cliff
and you will turn into a better person
in just one
second so let’s have an example let’s
put
everything i said into perspective so
who here has a fear of public speaking
any anyone has a fear of
well some some hands yeah most most most
people are afraid of public speaking so
let’s
put into to put it into perspective
inside the checklist
first what’s your motivation for public
speaking well
one might say i want to become a great
communicator or a great presenter
or simply i want to spread ideas more
efficiently
then you’ll need to define your fear
well i fear public speaking
and next you need to say why i fear
public speaking
what is the obstacle why do i fear
public speaking
well one might say i fear judgment i do
not want to be judged when i come on the
stage
next you’ll need to visualize all
possible outcomes what is your nightmare
from public speaking
well my personal nightmare is going on
the stage
not be able to say any word not be able
to move and simply shut down
but the best possible outcome is give a
good presentation or talk
and then go off the stage and feel
satisfied with the new skills i gained
and all the hard work i have put in next
you need to find the people who will
push you
for me they were the closest of my
friends and my family members
they pushed me into following my passion
of public speaking
they pushed me to give a great talk
then you need to to commit commit commit
you need to put
in the work of giving a great
presentation you’ll need to attend
rehearsals over rehearsals over your
houses
and just work hard now
finally always believe that life’s
greatest experiences
and deepest connections exist outside of
our comfort zone so please
do not be that one person who lies on
his deathbed
and regrets the entirety of his life so
seek this comfort