The Un-Comfort Zone

We, people that is, are built to be in our comfort zone. If you think about it, it makes a lot of sense. Throughout the course of human existence, we have struggled to have our basic needs met. If you are not sure about this last statement, refer to Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. If you are unfamiliar, Maslow says that there are 5 levels of needs. Each level is built upon the one before, with the foundation of his hierarchy being Physiological Needs (food, water, shelter, etc.), which goes without saying, and one step up from there is Safety Needs (safety and security). These two basic needs go directly to our survival and by default, our comfort.

So, back to my earlier statement-we’re built to be comfortable. But here’s the problem. When we become comfortable-especially ‘really’ comfortable-we tend to stop. We stop learning, we stop doing, we stop pushing, and we stop moving forward. In short, we go into a state of stasis. If you look up the meaning of the word stasis, you’ll find that stasis means “inactivity caused by opposing forces”. We’re not going forward, and we’re not really going back. We are right where we are-but are we?

In life, we need to keep moving. There is a line from the movie World War Z, which occurs in the early stages of the world falling apart (aka everyone turning into zombies), where Brad Pitt’s character tells the father of a family that took them in to keep them safe (the second of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs) that “movement is life.” It’s a great line, and also incredibly accurate. We need to keep moving, for if we don’t, our life can begin or will become less than it was before. Wow…think about that for a minute! Is that what we (ok you) really want in life? Do you want to (by default) become less than you were before?

If not, then you need to be willing to (on occasion) move beyond your default, your comfort zone, and try something new. Challenge yourself. Take on a new task, a new skill, something that’s…well…uncomfortable. It may seem counterintuitive to what you’re used to, but it will more than likely lead to something new and exciting, which is pretty cool. At least until that new, cool thing becomes comfortable, and then it’s time to go back to the drawing board and find another new thing that will challenge you and put you into the ‘Un-Comfort Zone’ once again.