Choosing Growth Over Comfort: The Deeper Meaning of Life’s Challenges

Challenges, struggles, and difficulties are an inseparable part of life. Indeed, there is good in life, but not everything is “strawberries and cream.” Things don’t always go as planned, and our conscience is not always clean. Sometimes we are weighed down by guilt for something we said or did, or conversely, for something we failed to say or do.

The life of a Jew is one of constant cheshbon hanefesh (self-accounting): examining ourselves, asking where we need to improve, and finding ways to grow stronger. In light of the challenges, would it not have been better if humanity had never been created at all? After all, the sages themselves said: “It would have been more comfortable for man not to have been created than to have been created” (Talmud, Eruvin 13b). If so, wouldn’t it have been easier for souls to remain above, in the heavenly chambers, close to God’s throne, rather than descend into a body and endure 80 difficult years on earth?

The Torah tells us that on the sixth day of creation, after man was formed, “God saw everything He had made, and behold, it was very good” (Bereishit 1:31). If God Himself declared creation, including humanity, to be “very good,” how do we reconcile this with the sages’ statement that it would have been more comfortable not to be created?

“Comfortable” vs. “Good”

The key lies in the wording. The sages said it would have been “comfortable” (noach) not to be created, but they did not say it would have been “good.” Comfort and goodness are not the same thing.

Anyone who has achieved something truly meaningful knows the path was not easy.

• A mother blessed with a precious child endures nine months of discomfort and the pain of labor.

• Earning a degree or professional qualification requires intense effort and perseverance.

• Building a charitable organization demands endless fundraising, planning, and operations.

The results are unquestionably good, but we would not call the process “comfortable.”

This is one of the life-lessons embedded in the sages’ words: Man was not created for comfort. Every new day granted to us by God is an invitation to step out of our comfort zone, push forward, and become a better version of ourselves. Only by doing so do we reach true goodness — the ultimate purpose for which man was created.

Why Hardship Is Part of Growth

A Jew’s spiritual mission is not always easy, nor is it meant to be. It is not always comfortable to walk rather than drive on Shabbat, or to rise early for morning prayers instead of sleeping in. Who decided that comfort is the measure of a good life?

Great achievements in any field are never born from comfort. Those who changed the world chose effort over ease because of the deep fulfillment that comes from realizing one’s potential. The very struggle transforms the challenge into a stepping stone, like an athlete adding weights to his workout machine — the resistance itself builds strength.

It may not be easy, but it is good. It may not be comfortable, but it is meaningful, fulfilling, and transformative.

Choosing the Good Over the Comfortable

Human beings are given life not to maximize comfort, but to maximize growth. Sometimes the choice we face is not between good and evil, but between good and comfortable:

• Should I yield to another even when I don’t need to?

• Should I extend kindness when it isn’t required?

• Should I push myself to wake up on time rather than stay in bed?

• Should I spend ten more minutes studying instead of giving up?

Growing as a person requires more than avoiding sin; it demands resisting the natural pull toward ease. Recognizing that life’s purpose is to choose good — even when it is uncomfortable, empowers us to make the right choices.

Goodness Beyond Comfort

The creation of humanity was the ultimate good, even with the struggles along the way. In fact, it is precisely through life’s obstacles that we reach fulfillment and eternal joy.

You can choose to live on the “beach of comfort,” but those who stay there will never dive deep enough to discover the pearls waiting in the depths of the sea.