Destroy your comfort
Embrace the curveballs of life, they are the most rewarding to learn from.
Embrace the unknown
The small steps you take at putting yourself into an uncomfortable situation can reward you in ways you wouldn’t imagine. You could learn a lot about yourself and others. Being uncomfortable will present different perspectives and approaches that you may not have considered before.
I recommend that we consider adopting non-habits. Do things that go contrary to your daily activity. If you have a cup of coffee first thing in the morning try starting with tea instead, or water, or wait until noon for your first cup. Break your habits. See how it changes your day. I bet you will be surprised how one small step can lead to a big discovery.
Shit happens
Words to live by.
Since I was a kid I’ve spent a lot of time trying to repair things, whether it was rebuilding the TV remote, fixing an old cd player, or mending relationships in my defunct family. For whatever reason, as a child, this was my comfort zone. Looking back, I chalk it up to being a way for me to take control of a situation that made me uncomfortable. Sounds reasonable. Being in control made me comfortable, it still does to some extent.
Before my parents divorced, my father would tell me about he and my mothers marriage counselor labeling 9-year-old me “the fixer”. I was described as the one who tried to broach conversations, and make people happy, the middleman. Most children don’t want their parents to divorce, so I decided to prevent it from happening by engaging my parents in lighthearted conversation, or activities that put them together with me, etc. Trying to negate their feelings and suffocate them with mine. Life threw me a curveball and I wanted to hit it out of the park. When I reflect on things like this I wonder how that behavior has carried over into my adult years, and if it holds or held any value.
“No good marriage has ever ended in divorce. If your friend got divorced, it means things were bad. And now, they’re better.” — Louis C.K.
Why did I need to control the outcome of something I’ve decided is bad? Was I doing this to make myself feel a sense of comfort again? If my parents stayed together would the outcome benefit anyone other than myself? How was this to be sustained?
My parents are strong and wise. Enough to recognize they needed change, and their marriage was sour. They were smart enough to accept it, and remove themselves from their comfort zone to start over.
There are a lot of moving parts to that story as I’m sure you can imagine, but the fine point is that the things you perceive as being the best situation might turn out to be the worst. For you and those around you. You need confidence in yourself (and a bit of foresight) to see it and fix it…or not.
Our personal comfort
There are many people around the world who make uncomfortable decisions for the perceived well being of others. There are people who decide they want to travel the world, that quit their 15 years old job. They drop everything and go. Comfort is a tough and fickle thing. When it’s there you love it, when it’s not you feel the weight of the world.
Comfort zones can provide a false security, and they can prevent you from moving forward if you are not careful. For instance, it’s nice to feel comfortable in your job, but not so much in your assignments. Imagine if you worked for an architectural firm for 30 years doing the same refurbishes and high rises without any deviation from the standard, save a few adjustments here and there. Wouldn’t you want to challenge this standard and try to find ways to make it more efficient, sustainable, suitable, etc? Having a comfortable job and tasks that you love might mean you need to create uncomfortable situations for yourself as well.
To destroy your comfort zone means to destroy the barriers that prevent you from taking chances. It means to be aware, and take control of that awareness. Live for experiences, not a false sense of security in what you perceive as comfortable. We become so entranced with our daily activity, that we forget to dream. We forget the fearlessness we had as kids to do things that were uncomfortable, selfish or not.
_
Kamron Robinson is a motion designer, and art director. Currently working at Hello Monday in NYC. These writings are personal thoughts and opinions, if you have questions or comments, by all means, shoot! :)
I’m not right, I’m just curious.
