Culture,Relationships

COMFORT ZONE — a haven to be Smashed or Endured?

A comfort zone is a place of familiarity or solace away from anxiety, awkwardness, or frustration. It is a predictable and safe zone, a sanctuary away from intimidation, qualms, and unpleasant shocks and surprises. It’s a space that encourages tranquillity, well-being, gratification, and physical respite. People engage in familiar activities or behaviours within this zone, leading to minimal risk or discomfort.

While comfort zones can provide a sense of security, they can also hinder personal growth, creativity, and learning. However, stepping out of these zones can lead to opportunities, new experiences, and personal development, expanding our potential and inspiring us to reach new heights.

 

Comfort zones are not made from walls, furniture, luxuries, or the people around them. They are a state of mind and emotions in which vulnerability and apprehension vanish, and one feels total control of the situation and oneself. People experience the most when they are far outside their usual element, in a zone of inner speech and melody, hating to be trespassed by anything unimportant or uninteresting.

My comfort zone is snuggling in a thick quilt on a warm mattress on a chilly winter night, listening to the soothing George Winston piano melodies on the Bluetooth speaker, and sipping a cup of hot cappuccino.

Don’t we all love to live in our comfort zones? Sure, we do.

Both partners feel safe, cherished, and secure in a comfort zone. This leads to predictable behaviours and interactions, creating a positive space where trust and emotions can thrive. In this space, we find people who give us unconditional assurance, are nonjudgmental, and make us feel loved and cared for. This is how friendships survive and relationships are secured.

While comfort zones in relationships can foster a sense of safety and predictability, they can also lead to complacency or stagnation. The relationship can suffer when partners stop trying to grow together and maintain spontaneity.

 

Comfort zones also play a significant role in friendships. When we meet people with all the traits, qualities and values, we invite them into our comfort zone. This could be a shared hobby, a similar sense of humour, or a mutual understanding of each other’s struggles. We work to nurture the bond of mutual affection and empathy, guided by a profound gut feeling and intellect for acceptance or denial.

Can we survive and make a living by drooling in our comfort zone? No. We can’t. As Albert Einstein famously said, “A ship is always safe at the shore, but that is not what it is built for.” This quote reminds us that while our comfort zone may feel safe, it’s not where we’re meant to stay. We need to push ourselves to explore new horizons and grow.

Life is not about living in our comfort zone. We need to work and slog and avoid taking life for granted. Our comfort zones should be small rendezvous areas where we can stop at intervals, chill out, and get back on the job. “A comfort zone is beautiful, but nothing grows there.”

People basking in their comfort zones lose a lot. Breaking the glass ceiling is tricky at the beginning—the process may be arduous, chaotic, and uncertain, but the outcome is incredible and overwhelming. People get better while accepting the challenges and not lazing at the riverside with a fishline for an unexpected catch.

“We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are.” WINSTON CHURCHILL.

Taking things for granted is a curse. Don’t be a daydreamer like “Sheikh Chilli”, expecting the apple to fall directly into your mouth. The feeling of cosiness is addictive and unrealistic. It is overpowering, making a man an enslaved person. Such people suffer, and so do their dependent families.

 

Fearing the inevitable is good as it prepares one to walk out of the cosy den and face imminent peril with vigour and fervour. The fear and anxiety during earthquake tremors rushing out in the middle of the night make one agile enough to face and appropriately tackle the situations. Fear is not a hindrance but a powerful tool for personal growth, empowering us to face challenges head-on.

Relationships of emotional value are not exempt from the comfort zone trap. We become complacent in trying to heal and nurture the alliance and tumble into the morbid comfort zone, taking things for granted. This is undoubtedly the beginning of the end. However, by recognizing the importance of relationships in our personal growth and the potential pitfalls of the comfort zone, we can step out of these zones and foster more substantial, more fulfilling connections, enlightening ourselves and our relationships.

 

Four Vital Zones are the essence of life, love, and relationships —

* The Fear Zone—Emerging out of our comfort zone, we enter the Fear zone, which makes us work harder and learn more for sustenance.

* The Learning Zone — One acquires new skills, knowledge, and experiences through active learning.

* The Growth Zone—Growth comes after learning and labour. Apply what we’ve learned and experience progress and development.

* The Happy Zone—We feel content and fulfilled, overcoming our fears and challenges.

 

“If you want something you’ve never had—you have to do something you’ve never done.”

 

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2 Comments

  1. Hi Doctor
    your description of comfort zone is perfect. “State of mind of no anxiety and full familiarity”.
    Very motivational write up, A MUST READ. The corrupt minds are not lazy they constantly strive to fill up their greed. Isn’t it surprising that Krishn had to motivate Arjun to fight war Duryodhan didn’t need it. Even today the good ones who think largely of others well being needs to get out of their comfort zones, it is possible only if they fall out of love with their egos of being good and JUST DO IT.
    I enjoy reading all your write ups, your thread bare analysis of such common place situations .Kudos to you.

    1. Dr. Anuj says:

      oh dear, thank you so much for the lovely comments and appreciation. you are right, we do need to step out of our comfort zone to set right few misgivings if we can. The ego is the biggest killer and refrains and restricts from doing things. Thanks once again for reading and understanding me…. regards.

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