The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort To Reclaim Your Wild, Happy, Healthy Self

Michael Easter

May 2021 · Sold by Rodale Books

About this ebook

Discover the evolutionary mind and body benefits of living at the edges of your comfort zone and reconnecting with the wild—from the New York Times bestselling author of Scarcity Brain.

“If you’ve been looking for something different to level up your health, fitness, and personal growth, this is it.”—Melissa Urban, Whole30 CEO and author of The Book of Boundaries

“Michael Easter’s genius is that he puts data around the edges of what we intuitively believe. His work has inspired many to change their lives for the better.”—Dr. Peter Attia, author of Outlive

In many ways, we’re more comfortable than ever before. But could our sheltered, temperature-controlled, overfed, underchallenged lives actually be the leading cause of many our most urgent physical and mental health issues? In this gripping investigation, award-winning journalist Michael Easter seeks out off-the-grid visionaries, disruptive genius researchers, and mind-body conditioning trailblazers who are unlocking the life-enhancing secrets of a counterintuitive solution: discomfort.
 
Easter’s journey to understand our evolutionary need to be challenged takes him to meet the NBA’s top exercise scientist, who uses an ancient Japanese practice to build championship athletes; to the mystical country of Bhutan, where an Oxford economist and Buddhist leader are showing the world what death can teach us about happiness; to the outdoor lab of a young neuroscientist who’s found that nature tests our physical and mental endurance in ways that expand creativity while taming burnout and anxiety; to the remote Alaskan backcountry on a demanding thirty-three-day hunting expedition to experience the rewilding secrets of one of the last rugged places on Earth; and more.
 
Along the way, Easter uncovers a blueprint for leveraging the power of discomfort that will dramatically improve our health and happiness, and perhaps even help us understand what it means to be human. The Comfort Crisis is a bold call to break out of your comfort zone and explore the wild within yourself.

Ratings and reviews

Quite an exciting adventure! The book is a fantastic read. The writer has an incredible talent for keeping the reader throughly interested. The author leaves the reader to feel inspired to get out of one's comfort zone and to fully embrace a bit of discomfort in such a way that leads ones life to a place of health, happiness, and fulfillment.

Michael does a great job of intertwining his reasrch on several topics like Misogi and matikpa, while describing his own Misogi of hunting Caribou in the Artic. Was an absolute awesome read, and has given me much more to think about and search for in my own life.

Very good read which highlights how pushing ourselves outside of our comfort zones can have considerable life improvements

About the author

Michael Easter is a contributing editor at Men’s Health magazine, columnist for Outside magazine, and professor at the University of Nevada, Las Vegas. His work has appeared in more than sixty countries and can also be found in Men’s Journal, New York, Vice, Scientific American, Esquire, and others. He lives in Las Vegas on the edge of the desert with his wife and their two dogs.