How to become stronger during tough times can be summed up by Icelandic Males. They out live every other male by 13.2 years. Why? It isn’t because they are in better shape, and they do not have a high immigration rate to mix traits. They were just born and raised in a harsh environment were it is brutal with its short days 9 months of the year. Their harsh weather has strengthened them. That is how you get strong. You face and invite hard challenges into your life. You build a resilience by facing hard things. Growth and improvement happen outside of the comfort zone where we push ourselves. The less real problems people have in real life, the more they lower their threshold for tolerance. What was perfectly fine before is not intolerable. What was comfortable is no longer comfortable as we seek satisfaction from life. Boredom is good because it creates creativity, but with smartphones in hand we are less creative, less bored and give away 2.5 hours a day away. People who think about death, or a the vacation ending were more likelier to be happier. They were apt to take advantage of more opportunities for growth and production. They donated time and money more. The Japanese have a word called Misogi, which means doing something because its hard. There is a great deal of satisfaction in creating meaning through achievement.
Key Takeaways:
- Being bored can be a good thing because it leads to being creative as your brain is jumping up and down wanting something to do.
- Because death is more of a threatening thought, when someone thinks about it, their brain tends to automatically think about happy thoughts.
- Be uncomfortable! If you try something that makes you uncomfortable, it will remind you of how your small problems are still small problems.
“The World Health Organization says that Icelandic guys are the longest living men on the planet. They make it to 81.2-years-old, beating the world average by 13.2 years. But it’s not because of their lifestyle. Their obesity rates hover around the global average and their activity levels are nothing to write home about. So why the heck do they live so long?”