while(self++) { #5 } // What is a comfort zone, really?
It fascinates me how many amazing things I’ve learned, exciting opportunities I’ve uncovered, and new friends I’ve made simply by going out of my comfort zone. New experiences, for the most part, have overwhelmingly yielded more good than bad. I travelled to Japan, started taking improv classes, and became an adjunct at Hunter — experiences that I felt would enrich me, but that were also departures from what I was used to. I had only ever been to “Western” countries, had only ever felt comfortable with preplanned presentations and performances, and had only ever taught small groups of students. I was jumping into things that were quite different from my norm.
In some sense, I was (and still am) taking a risk. A risk with consequences of failure, of confusion. Some people take even bigger risks — that’s the whole idea behind entrepreneurship, no? Entering the market with a product that (you believe) has potential to succeed. High risk, high reward and all that. Yet, that feels like an overhyped proposition. The ability to take risks often comes from a place of privilege. Usually financial, but not necessarily. The desire and ability to take a risk is easier when there’s a safety net. But if you have a lot to lose, you don’t make the decision to risk it all nearly so easily. However, people do break out of less fortunate circumstances and become "successful" (whatever that means, right?). And yet, even that may not nearly be as common as people think. Do we oversensationalize that, too?
I’ve sometimes asked people whether or not they prefer stable lives or lives with high highs and low lows. It’s been a difficult question for me to answer. I think the answer at least partially depends on privilege and past personal experience. What do you think?
