A few weeks ago I was sitting in the window seat of an airplane en route to LAX after a layover in Chicago, elevated thousands of feet above the ground. Beneath me, great expanses of land passed by in the blink of an eye. It is moments like these that lend themselves well to reflection. I began to think about exactly what I was doing. I was about to return to a city 3,000 miles away from home, for another season of new life experiences and challenges.
The journey that I embarked on roughly a year ago was not one for the faint of heart. It involved leaving behind all things familiar, from friends and family, to favorite food spots. But the events that have transpired over the past 12 months continue to reassure me on a daily basis that relocating was one of the best decisions that could have been made for my life at the time. It was a choice made to prevent the inevitable stagnation that people often face when they refuse to allow their lives to be shaken up. The “Comfort Zone” as it is commonly referred to, is not a concept that has a singular definition. But perhaps the most accurate way to describe it is a proverbial “space” that people occupy within their lives. It is referred to as the comfort zone because it is a place that feels safe and unthreatening.
It is difficult to feel uncomfortable when you’ve become acclimated to a specific way of living that see’s little to no significant variation. The comfort zone represents a home of sorts, somewhere that can be fled to when the hardships of life become too much to bear. And although having that safe place can absolutely be a positive thing, it presents a certain danger as well. The problem presented by existing in a continuous state of comfort, is that there is never truly a need for risk because everything is predictable, and nearly almost routine to a fault. It is not a stretch to imagine that there are individuals who have gone to great lengths to ensure that their lives see as little change as possible. Based on that premise, a logical follow-up question might be: but why is it so important to emphasize and value change? The answer to that question is the following: intentionally inserting yourself into situations that initially seem uncomfortable and unfamiliar can be an essential catalyst for personal growth. How can someone be expected to see personal evolution if they remain in an unchanging habitat? Being open to the idea that different does not equate to negative is key. That that being said, it would be doing a disservice to determined comfort-zone dwellers to not shed light on some of the reasons that tend to be given to avoid actively exiting the aforementioned zone.
1. The Devil You Know
Being in the comfort zone does not mean that you will be spared adversity. Rather, it simply implies that despite the fact that challenges will arise, they are more likely to be ones that you’re more use to facing, and thus they will be easier to overcome. Hence the reason for this popular saying.
Concerns about other people’s perception of us can hold an immense amount of power. Uprooting oneself from his or her current circumstances can disrupt the social balance of the community that they occupy. The fear that people they know may question the reasoning behind wanting to seek the unknown in hopes of advancing in life might have the effect of discouraging the weaker willed, to the point where they sacrifice their own aspirations so as to not have to confront the peanut gallery of skeptics.
3. Uncertainty
Foraying into new territory can be terrifying. The reality of fresh circumstances where many things are not set in stone may very well lead to anxiety and fear. This is an understandable reaction, as letting our guard down means we are willingly exposing our vulnerabilities to people and situations that may or may not have our best interest in mind.
All of these reasons absolutely have some level of validity to them. However, the possibility of experiencing transformative character development greatly outweighs the reasons listed above. The grass isn’t guaranteed to be greener on the other side, but how will you ever know if you never leave your own yard? Give that uncertainty the opportunity to dissipate into anticipation that the best may be yet to come, allow yourself to take on new challenges that you will eventually concur and come out stronger on the other side because of them, and let the skeptics watch in awe as you dare to take a chance and reach new heights because you were willing to follow your heart. When I got on that plane a year ago to come to California I was unsure of what the future held, but I was able to hold my head high because I had an open mind and an open heart. If you take a similar approach, I cannot say that I know what the results will be, but what I can tell you is that you won’t know if you don’t give it a shot, and that is the whole point.
