Why is it so difficult for people to start doing things that are objectively beneficial for them?

Wake up earlier. Drink warm water. Exercise. Go for a run. Take a contrast shower. Read a few pages before work.

Just one step—a small effort to mark the start. It would seem that everything will get easier from there.

But the opposite happens.

Modern humans rarely face survival challenges. We live in comfortable conditions. And comfort means security, predictability, and energy conservation. It's essential for recovery. However, it rarely becomes the source of change.

From a biological perspective, the body strives to minimize energy expenditure. When the environment is stable and effortless, resource conservation mode kicks in. This is beneficial for survival, but not for development.

Discomfort, on the other hand, is always a signal. But this signal can mean two different things: threat or growth.

And here's the key point.

If stress is too intense and uncontrollable, it destroys. If it's moderate and manageable, it mobilizes resources and triggers adaptation.

In physiology, this is described through the principle of hormesis—the positive effect of moderate stress. Short-term exposure to cold, heat, and physical activity activates restorative mechanisms at the cellular level. The body becomes more resilient.

When a person sees a graph where mild stress leads to growth, while a lack of stress leads to stagnation, they are more likely to make the decision to "get up and do it."

But it's important not to simply "seek discomfort." It's important to dose it. Not avoid it completely. And don't overload yourself. Instead, consciously introduce controlled stress.

Managed stress is discomfort + control + meaning.

When a person understands why they're making an effort and feels in control of the situation, the nervous system perceives stress as a challenge, not a threat.

This is where personal development begins.

Procrastination often arises not from laziness, but from choice overload. The more you think about "how things could be better," the more likely you are to postpone action. The brain tires of analyzing and chooses simple pleasure.

Paradoxically, the opposite mechanism works:

The fewer decisions that require additional thought, the less procrastination;

The more concrete actions, the less room for procrastination;

The longer we dwell on the "perfect option," the greater the risk of doing nothing.

Discipline reduces the field of endless choice. It transforms reflection into action. And over time, a person begins to perceive themselves as capable of entering discomfort consciously—and emerging from it stronger.

Discipline doesn't restrict freedom. It creates inner resilience. And it is resilience that, in the long term, determines both life expectancy and its quality.

Maya Annaeva