041 - Michael Easter
“What we were built to do can inform a lot of what we should do today.”
Michael Easter joins Jason and Emily for Episode 041 on embracing discomfort through putting ourselves in extreme situations to appreciate what we have and find better health. Michael is known in Heath Journalism as the guy who interviews interesting people doing interesting things. For his new book “The Comfort Crisis” he went on a hunting trip in remote Alaska for 33 days to write about how the most uncomfortable, vulnerable and challenging situations reset our perspective and make us better people in our daily lives.
Michael attributes his endurance and toughness to his “badass” single mom. His natural curiosity and experience traveling while young made him the guy who would go to “get the good stuff.” He likes to fully embed with experts and subjects, not just do interviews behind a screen and laughs with Jason and Emily about living with them for a few days to better learn about rucking -- even if it meant early chaotic wakeups.
The through-line for the interview, as with his book, is the Alaska trip and the real-world lessons he brought back with him. He talks about the importance of research and listening to the experts, but also just trying things to see what works. With candor he says that his biggest challenge to date is getting and staying sober, but that from Gym Jones to the Alaskan Wilderness he continues to challenge himself in hard ways. Michael repeatedly returns to simplicity and “the Oatmeal rule” of getting back to the basics of what makes us healthy humans.
Links:
“The Comfort Crisis” by Michael Easter
Michael’s Real-Life Mountain Man, Badass Mom and Rucking Articles in Men’s Health