Earlier this year, I listened to Michael Easter’s, The Comfort Crisis: Embrace Discomfort to Reclaim Your Wild, Healthy, Happy Self on audible, and now, I’m fully immersed in the print version to ensure that I don’t miss a single word. It’s that good.

This is one of my favorite books that I’ve read this year, and I’ve heard from others that it was their catalyst for starting to ruck. I’ll provide a breakdown of what Easter has to say about rucking, but I also what to highlight one of the ideas that really resonated with me. “In newness, we are forced into presence and focus. Newness can even slow down our sense of time. This explains why time seemed slower when we were kids,” he writes.

Chasing Discomfort to Cultivate More Presence
As I prepare my middle son to join his older brother at college in a few weeks, and my youngest enters high school, I find myself trying to savor every moment with a new sense of urgency, and yearning to slow down time. So when Easter explained that doing new things that push us out of our comfort zones helps us to stay more present, he got my attention, He also reminds us that these things help to cultivate a growth mindset, build mental strength, and teach us to use fear as a motivator.

After listening to Easter’s audiobook, I made a resolution to say “yes” to more “newness” and do things that are outside of my comfort zone. Some examples: surfing for the first time and facing my fear of the ocean (learning along the way that the Pacific is much colder than the Atlantic), completing a 17-mile lakefront ruck, swimming in an underground cave (aka a Cenote in Mexico), starting a ruck club, shiting the focus of my business and taking several cold plungesThat last one was especially surprising to my family considering I use an electric blanket when the house dips below 70 degrees— a habit that I should probably ditch in light of Easter’s convincing case against modern-day comforts that are actually having a negative impact on our mental and physical health.

Why All Humans Should Ruck
Easter is quickly becoming one of the most sought-after “experts” about rucking as a result of his book. Michael is a journalist and a naturally curious person, and as he set out on his journey to understand how to leverage discomfort, he learned that by design, humans were made to carry weight for distance (rucking).

According to Easter, modern-day rucking aligns with our evolutionary history and the physical demands our ancestors faced. Throughout the majority of human history, our ancestors lived in natural environments that required physical exertion and movement on a regular basis. They had to walk long distances, carry heavy loads, and engage in various physical activities for survival, such as hunting and gathering.

Rucking, which refers to carrying a weighted backpack while walking, replicates this natural movement pattern that our bodies are designed for. It engages multiple muscle groups, including the legs, back, and core, and promotes proper posture and gait. Rucking also provides a cardiovascular workout while building strength and endurance.

Our bodies have evolved to adapt to these physical demands over thousands of years. The act of rucking taps into our ancestral wiring, allowing us to reconnect with our natural movement patterns and promote overall physical fitness. However, in modern society, we have largely eliminated the need for such physical exertion due to technological advancements and sedentary lifestyles. This lack of physical activity and movement has led to various health issues, including chronic diseases and mental health problems.

Michael Easter on Peter Attia’s The Drive
I’m now a full fledge Michael Easter fan, already anticipating his next book that is due out in September that will explore the “Scarcity Mindset”. I reached out to tell him about Mother Ruckers and he actually got right back to me with some words of encouragement which made my day. If you're interested in exploring this concept further, I highly recommend checking out the book and listening to Easter's conversation with Peter Attia on The Drive podcast.

If you would like to find out more about joining the Mother Ruckers ruck club or would like help starting your own, please check out our upcoming walks or reach out to me anytime.