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