Those Who Need Comfort Are Easy to Defeat

One of the things I tell my athletes often is:

“Those who need comfort are easy to defeat.”

Some people hear that and think I’m trash talking others—like I’m saying they’re weaker than me. But that’s not the case. It’s not about other people at all.

It’s about me.

Every time I’ve failed—whether in academics, athletics, or my career—it wasn’t because I wasn’t talented enough or smart enough. It was because I chose comfort. I avoided the hard thing, the painful thing, the uncomfortable thing. And that avoidance always cost me more than the discomfort ever would have.

Comfort is seductive. It whispers excuses: “Rest a little longer. Don’t push so hard. You can get to it tomorrow.” And every time we listen, we weaken.

The truth is, every goal worth chasing—whether it’s earning a degree, building a business, becoming a champion wrestler, or simply transforming your body—demands discomfort. The flavors might differ, but it's still pain:

• Long, torturous hours studying or creating.
• The excruciating grind of physical training.
• The sting of rejection and criticism.
• The loneliness that comes when you’re walking a path most won’t understand.

Discomfort is the price of growth. It’s the toll gate between where you are and where you want to be.

There’s a poem I keep coming back to because it captures this better than I can. It says:

“If you’re going to try, go all the way. Otherwise, don’t even start… Isolation is a gift. All the others are a test of your endurance, of how much you really want to do it… And you’ll do it, despite rejection and the worst odds… If you’re going to try, go all the way. There is no other feeling like that. You will ride life straight to perfect laughter. It’s the only good fight there is.”

That’s it. That’s the whole game.

If you’re going to try—if you’re going to chase something truly meaningful—you have to accept the suffering that comes with it. Because the suffering isn’t in the way; it is the way.

So when I say, “Those who need comfort are easy to defeat,” I’m not pointing fingers. I’m reminding myself—and you—that comfort is the enemy. The more we need it, the easier we are to beat.

The question is: do you want comfort, or do you want victory? Because you can’t have both.