Eckhart TolleNYT Bestselling author of the Power of Now

Comfort Never Made Anyone Strong

30 Aug 2026 · 1 min

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In this excerpt from Eckhart Tolle’s video “Comfort Never Made Anyone Strong,” Tolle employs the myth of Hercules to illustrate that adversity is essential for personal and spiritual development. He asks what would have happened to Hercules if he had never faced the lion, Hydra, stag, boar, or criminals, suggesting that without such trials he would have remained complacent, “snoring his life away” in comfort. Tolle argues that challenges awaken our latent strengths, shape our character, and are the purpose of our existence, warning against the pursuit of perpetual comfort zones which inhibit growth.

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What would have become of Hercules, do you think, if there had been no lion, no Hydra, stag, or boar, and no savage criminals to rid the world of? What would he have done in the absence of such challenges? Obviously, he would have just rolled over in bed and gone back to sleep. So by snoring his life away in luxury and comfort, He never would have developed into the mighty Hercules. What would have been the use of those arms, that physique, and that noble soul without crises and conditions to stir him into action? We are here to face challenges, and the challenges are here to awaken us. We are not here to avoid challenges, to continuously seek out comfort zones.