Motivating Personal Growth by Seeking Discomfort (2022)

> E.g.: If I want to learn a new language, does the discomfort need to relate to the language, or is it enough to do something like taking cold showers?

Weird to restrict the focus of growth to one particular area, and to ask whether any discomfort (even physical) will contribute to your growth in that particular area, when the abstract just refers to "personal growth" and makes no claim related to some spooky cross-pollination of discomfort. It even gives a list of examples, and refers to feeling "awkward."

But when it comes to learning a language, some discomfort when you're using that language is obviously when improvement in the language is happening. If you're only in situations where your current knowledge is completely adequate, you'll never have any reason to get better. You're not getting better at anything if you're never breaking a sweat while doing it.

edit: could "results showed that these effects occurred only in areas of personal growth that cause immediate discomfort." be any clearer?

It is always discomforting to learn of our mistakes, failures, fallabilities, and other times we've caused unhappiness in others. The fact is, however, that those are the most fruitful and important experiences to learn from, for spiritual growth is always weighed against the unhappiness and happiness we've caused. Karma ensures that we feel some of what we've caused others, as a motivating feedback system, no matter how positive or negative their effects. As such, when we act right, we feel better because we are experiencing less negative feedback. We truly reap what we sow, and the crop is our happiness or unhappiness.

The spiritual path -- i.e. the Path of Love -- is the journey to learning how to cause more happiness and less unhappiness. Note that doing that is the most important way to really improve the society and cultures we are a part of.

Like Dunning-Kruger's true-experts in any field of endeavor, the seeker of self-improvement must humbly and honestly search themself to find out which of the vices we tend to use to justify our selfish ideals, attitudes, and behaviors. Once found, we must then ceaselessly fight against manifesting them and instead choose their virtuous counterparts. Compassion is the foundation of all the virtues, but we must develop and aim our moral compass.

To love someone is to want them to be happy such that you selflessly act for their benefit. That is the only goal of the spiritual path, for the universe really prefers us to explore its wonders in peace and happiness and utter enjoyment; Earth was made for just that. And yet, it's always our choice whether to harmonize with that optimal organization and participation, or selfishly avoid it if only by denying its optimality; to either increase one's humanity, or to fall short and descend further into callous disregard or even savagery.

"Love is the astrolabe of God's mysteries." --Rumi

weird, when I googled it I found full access in same site and same DOI https://journals.sagepub.com/eprint/GYY8QMPZAJRVRZQD7EJT/ful...

You mean Wim Hof?