Defining Intensity

Intensity is another way of saying stress, challenge or difficulty.

Embracing Discomfort

Discomfort can arrive from many different situations from physical training to work or personal development. Where most people shy away from difficulty in these situations, trying to embrace them head on with vigour will put you in a much better position for the future. Even if you cannot meet the challenge, you approach it forthrightly.

Being Mindful of the Intensity

When you start finding something truly challenging, something that you really wish you didn’t have to face right now or high levels of physical discomfort, become aware of the situation you are in. Zoom out from the current narrow mindedness and mental struggle that is currently appearing. Once you become truly aware of the situation, lean in with intent, do not let the difficulty beat you. It can be very helpful to have some form of rehearsed saying, or physical geste that is ready for when these moments occur.

I run my own business and although most of my days are relatively well balanced and “easy”, sometimes I have to go above and beyond and put myself in discomfort at work. I often use this technique during long work days, where it is required that you complete block after block of work. I also use it a great deal in physical training, there will be times deep into a tough tempo run or into a set of backs squats, where I zoom out and then lean back in with intent.

Do You Currently Face Intensity?

It is important to reflect on where you currently face difficulty in your day to day life. Where do you have to pull yourself up and demand something challenging of yourself physically or mentally. If there is no point in your week where you really need to put yourself in a challenging position, then you are probably not seeking out enough difficulty. If you are putting yourself in intense situations on a daily basis, maybe you are exposing yourself to too much challenge?

Secondary Effects of Intensity

Thriving on Intensity

Thriving on intensity is a way of describing the phenomenon that occurs when life gets pretty easy as you become sufficiently adept at dealing with intensity. An eight hour work day will start to feel extremely easy, a tough workout will become something that fills you with energy and encourages you rather than crushing you. As we become disciplined individuals being disciplined is no longer a challenge, it is a flow of output that almost doesn’t require much mental effort.

The Challenges Grow

As you begin to truly thrive on intensity, the challenges that you are willing to accept grow. A task that you found difficult a few years ago will seem like a breeze and now you are able to accept bigger and more challenging endeavours. This happens in work, intellectual endeavours and physical tasks.

Life Gets Easier

Not only will being a disciplined person become easier but you are far more likely to find yourself in a position where less discipline is required in the sense that less output is required as you can profit from the fruits of your labour. This is not an invitation to retirement, it just means that you can be disciplined toward tasks which provide you with the most fulfilment. This point is specifically towards those who have achieved some business success, or have mastered a skill to the point that they do not have to work long hours to earn a good living.

Do Not Design Your Life Around Intensity

This is a warning for those who seek too much intensity. Designing your life around difficulty is a way of hiding. Hiding from mortality. Hiding from the fact that you should be able to find joy in your daily life because very soon you will not be here. We need intensity in order to live fulfilling lives, but too much intensity will prevent us from taking it all in, finding joy with ourselves and others, finding a sense of tranquility in our existence that can only be there once we have truly accepted our death. If you have ever met a workaholic, you will see that too much intensity has sucked the joy out of them. They have no interests, few friends and poor relationships. This is not the goal of this article. We need to find a balance between endeavour and being in our lives. This balance between being and becoming is a fine one that is very challenging in our society, especially when you are an ambitious individual in multiple areas of your life.

This is why periods of intensity throughout your day need to be followed by periods of rest and calm, so that you can find the balance that best suits you. Sometimes, we may need epochs of intensity in our lives. The first three to five years when you start a business will be all consuming, the same can be said for having a career and multiple children. When this happens, try and see it as an epoch of your life that will be followed by an epoch that is calmer. Thinking very long term in this way will help you build a more intentional life.