Most of us love being in our comfort zones. It is so called precisely because within it, there is little or no pressure and we need only expend minimum effort in order to get by in life. But our comfort zones should only be spaces for temporary rest, because as long as we remain within them, we cannot grow.
You need only look around you to see what happens when people try to get through life by doing the least amount of work - they become complacent and lazy, their minds begin to dull, and every minor setback is like a catastrophe in their eyes.
Nature also presents abundant evidence why how getting out of our comfort zones helps us grow, and move through the stages of life. Our mother's womb was our very first comfort zone. We spent nine months depending purely on a single cord for sustenance. It was safe, it was warm, and we didn't have to lift a finger to be nourished. But how long could our mothers' belly hold us? In order for life to continue, we had to get out of the womb. As you know, the process of birth is often a painful experience, both for mother and child. We emerge crying for our lost utopia, our first breaths painful and difficult. Yet, without this event, our lives would've ended at nine months.
Think about each milestone or accomplishment in your life. Was it easy? Hopefully not, because it was, that means the achievement probably meant nothing to you, and you were not made better and stronger through it. No, your victories probably came only after much hard work and leaps of faith into the unknown.
Baby turtles instinctively struggle to get to the ocean after hatching from their shells. To them, the waters are untested territory, yet they never fail to make their way to them. They're wired to know that remaining where they are means certain death.
It's the same for us. If we stay in our comfort zones, we risk becoming weak, aimless and irrelevant. The only way to enrich our lives and continue growing is to keep pushing through the skins of our comfort zones. And this pushing continues into our later years. How many people have retired only to find themselves listless and bored with living after the first year or so? That's because they've stopped challenging themselves. Their minds gradually grind to a near halt.
Getting out of our comfort zones is hard work, but Nature proves to us how essential it is for life and development!
Eugine Loh, 938Live, MediaCorp Pte Ltd
