Jes Edgson: The danger of the Comfort Zone

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Aspiring outlaw and hardcore sentence enthusiast, Jes Edgson.

Comfort is an ominous term, really. Whilst an inviting concept, the Comfort Zone can be the place where dreams, inspiration and drive spend their last waning moments. How ever it may suit some of us in this life, comfort is not a catalyst for change, nor growth. One of our first contributors on Alec’s blog, back to the days when BizNews.com was but a twinkle on the horizon, and Alec was under an imposed restraint-of-trade, Jes Edgson provides a down-to-earth, straightforward – while still beautifully flowing – slice of her reality in this piece of how she has escaped the warm, dulling ether of all things familiar. – Caitlin Hogg   

By Jes Edgson*

The other day I woke up, got out of bed, took a good look in the mirror, and realised that I was utterly miserable. When I told my friends about my unexpected moment of clarity, they were shocked…

shocked that I’d only just come to this conclusion. Apparently, I haven’t exactly been Miss Sunshine for the last few months. So, in a matter of moments, I came to the conclusion that something in my life needed to change, and it needed to change immediately. Long story short: I resigned from my job with no plan whatsoever, and now have a month and a half to find a new way to earn a living.

Now, I’m not one to make irrational, spur-of-the-moment decisions. So, when I handed in my resignation letter without any prospects lined up, it wasn’t because I woke on the spontaneous side of the bed. No, it was because I had no other choice… it had to be done. You see, I had fallen into a hazardous trap, a trap that has claimed more lives than you’d ever imagine. I’d woken up and found myself chained up, bound and gagged, in one of the most dangerous places a creative could end up… I was stuck in the Comfort Zone.

That’s not a particularly threatening term, is it? “Comfort Zone”. It brings to mind big fluffy pillows,

brand-new pajamas, and a world without any worries. Seems rather nice, to be honest. And that’s the problem, the Comfort Zone comes across as a nice place to live. If you think about it, it’s basically the middle-class suburbia of mental states. Just like a manicured lawn and white picket fence, it can lull you into a false sense of security. And, let’s face it, in a world like the one we’re living in, a little security goes a long way. These days, we crave security so much that sometimes we confuse feeling “safe” with feeling “happy”. It’s not bad, so it must be good.

For example, I wasn’t unhappy at work because I was being whipped or chastised on a daily basis. In all honesty, I have a pretty decent job. I work at a good company, with amazing people, and I’ll recommend it as a great place to spend 5 days a week to anybody who asks. But that’s the thing about a Comfort Zone, it seems attractive from the outside. From the inside, however, it’s a pretty dark place to live. I’d outlived my position and I wasn’t learning anything new. There was no space for me to expand and no new territory for me to explore. I wasn’t growing as a writer and I was bored… more than that, I was boring. I’d become uninspired, disengaged, and apathetic. And the worst part was that I didn’t think there was anything wrong with it. I was comfortable, after all, and isn’t that the goal?

No, no it’s not. No child stands up in class and says, “When I grow up, I want to be comfortable.” Sure, financial stability is a real concern, but it can’t be the Big Picture. There has to be that Special Something that gets you out of bed in the morning and makes you want to stay up late at night. For me, it’s writing, which happens to be my profession, but this Special Something doesn’t have to be your career. The reason you wake up in the morning can be anything from raising children to collecting 90s memorabilia, it doesn’t matter. What matters is that it keeps you awake, keeps you growing, and keeps you excited.

And if there’s one thing I can guarantee, it’s that whatever that Special Something is, it’s not going to thrive in the Comfort Zone.

The Comfort Zone is a toxic place and anyone living there should buy a one-way ticket out. The only real way to escape is to point in whichever direction makes the most sense and change something drastic. It certainly isn’t easy, fool proof, or risk free… but what’s the point of life if we don’t get in a metaphorical gun fight once in a while? Life’s too short to own property in the Comfort Zone and I’m too young to be boring. In less than two months I may find myself unemployed and full of regret, but at least I won’t half-asleep in the Comfort Zone.

* Jes Edgson is an aspiring outlaw and hardcore sentence enthusiast. She firmly believes in changing her own mind as often as possible and prefers good questions to easy answers.

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