Comfort Zones: The Millennial Edit | Breaking the B.S. (ft. Rosie Bennet)
We’re excited to introduce you to Rosie Bennet who is not only one of our favorite young guitarists but also a gifted writer! Starting today, Rosie will be a guest on the tonebase blog every other week, sharing opinion pieces on her view of the new guitar movement and the community as a whole. Enjoy this first piece from her new series, “Breaking the B.S.”
“If your dreams don’t scare you, they aren’t big enough.”
“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.”
We’ve all heard something along those lines, perhaps in an advert, on a fridge magnet or on Instagram. FOMO advertising.
You aren’t having a good enough time, even your dreams (the things that should determine your personal success) and your comfort zone (the feelings that should determine what you enjoy doing) aren’t enough anymore to meet society’s perception of success.
What we seem to have forgotten is that, although motivating people to strive for better outcomes can be inspirational, denying the validity of someone’s existing aspirations and passions, however ordinary they may be, can have pretty damaging psychological implications.
In fact it is the mood of the whole western millennial generation; the generation of opportunity, the generation of the extraordinary, the generation where it is almost shameful to not be doing well for yourself because the internet makes everything possible.
We live in a world of chaotic paradox; the rich are richer than ever, the poor poorer, we trust everybody whilst trusting nobody, privacy has taken on a totally new definition, and we are more anti social than we’ve ever been despite having endless knowledge and communication at our fingertips.
So how can we find a balance between success that is fulfilling to us as artists, and yet appeases society’s expectations?
Sometimes we do our best work when we are truly comfortable, and the confidence gained from those moments allows us to move forwards.
There’s no need to look negatively on our current dreams — trust that they are right for us now, but not set in stone. Achievable goals are ultimately satisfying and a culture that denies that leaves us with a generation of perpetual guilt.
Perhaps a healthier approach would be to think of our comfort zones as places to expand on, rather than to leave behind completely.
About Rosie Bennet
Born in London in 1996, Rosie started playing guitar at age seven. She received her early musical education at The Yehudi Menuhin School of Music and went on to study with Zoran Dukic (The Hague, NL), Johan Fostier (Tilburg, NL), Rene Izquierdo (Milwaukee, USA) and Raphaella Smits (Leuven, BE). She has performed in festivals all over Europe, including Open Guitar Festival in Křivoklát, Czech Republic, Glasgow’s Big Guitar Weekend, Scotland, Porziano Music Festival, Italy and the West Dean guitar Festival, UK. Highlights of her concert career include performances at Wigmore Hall, London, The North Wall, Oxford and concerts given on El Camino De Santiago.
Learn more about Rosie by visiting her website at rosiebennet.com
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