“A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.” Denis Waitley
I’d like to think that I’m starting to figure out my life, but I know better. The more I learn, the less I actually know. The things I once thought to be simple are far more complex than I could have ever imagined. I must say, it’s a bit humbling. Take the concept of comfort, for instance. It seems simple enough, right? Everybody loves comfort. And what’s not to love? It’s so—well—comfortable. And yet there’s another side to comfort that I’ve never really thought about, until recently.
Western society has programed us to crave comfort. Advertising, popular media, even the education system is designed with the promise of giving us a more comfortable life.
I’ll admit that I like my comfort—a pleasant summer’s day, a tasty meal, living in a nice home, and having a sense of abundance are some of the niceties that make getting up in the morning worthwhile. I’m grateful for these things. But these same comforts can also create problems in our lives and (since this post is about creative blocks) even in our creative pursuits—if we become too attached to them.
And there’s the rub. It’s the attachment to comfort that creates the problem—not the comforts themselves. Most of us are far too attached to comfort. And it’s understandable. Once we find something that feels comfortable or brings us a sense of security, we tend to hold onto it—with an iron grip. And this is how we get stuck. Not only artistically, but in life, as well.
We get stuck because playing it safe, cocooned in the familiarity of our daily lives and routines, is contrary to our natural sense of curiosity. It is this inborn curiosity that that pushes us to explore and seek out new experiences.
Your
ego craves comfort, while your spirit (your creative self) craves curiosity. So
we often find ourselves oscillating between curiosity and comfort—with comfort
winning most of the time. The result is eventual disenchantment and artistic
dead ends.
So why do we do it? The trap and illusion of comfort is subtle.
It’s a tricky little bugger and so is our ego. Even if we break free from its
grip and explore something new we still have to remain mindful. The new
experience will re-energize us, expand and renew our spirit. Hence it feels
great. This is a good thing. But it feels so good that we almost immediately
start to get attached to the new feeling and we live according to the newly
created parameters associated with these feelings. If we are not mindful, and
remain here too long, we’re back in the cocoon!
The trick is to keep moving, to keep growing. Constantly.
As an artist be aware of how comfort can be a huge block to creativity. Imagine yourself making the jump into an exciting new creative venture. It’s so successful that you begin to rely on it. Over time it becomes your new artistic routine, your style. But later on, the fire goes out of it. It becomes boring and expected. The spark you first had is gone. Despite this, it’s still safe. It’s known territory. So you hold on to it. Now you’re blocked.
Remember, we create our best work when we feel just a little scared or anxious, when we are playing on the outer rim and exploring those rough edges of our artistic boundaries. All of which exist just outside our “comfort zone”. It can be extremely scary to go there—into the unknown. But we are always the better for it. It is the only way we can grow creatively.
Imagine what might happen if you become so comfortable that you never again ventured outside your comfort zone? Could you survive and thrive as a dynamic artist? Would your art mean anything to you or to anyone else?
Art, writing or even life needs to grow and expand. It has to push at these rough edges, into something new. Behind every fear, our greatness resides. But we have to be willing and courageous enough to scratch at the wall of the cocoon—to tear into it and push through to find our potential.
Our minds are sparked by new experiences, new ideas. The unknown. The unfamiliar. The scary. An unchallenged mind is happy and quite content to stay curled up in its warm cocoon. But, such a mind isn’t truly living—merely existing. It certainly can’t create on any meaningful level.
So how can we avoid this cycle of entering new experiences only to eventually get overcome by the comfort they offer?
1) Examine your present comfort zone. Explore your life and creativity. Get present and mindful with it. Has it fallen into a rut? When was the last time you tried something new or scary? Does today look much the same as yesterday? Does last week look the same as this one?
2) Think outside of your comfort zone. In your art, consider new creative possibilities. In life, is there something you want to try but have been too scared to? Imagine yourself doing that thing that excites you.
3) Move outside your comfort zone. You don’t have to tear your entire life up, abandoning everything all at once. Just make one change, for now. Explore one new avenue of experience. If you are a writer or an artist, reach out to a new and potentially non-responsive audience, try a new style or topic. Take a chance.
Do this and you will have a better chance to reignite your creativity and life in exciting ways. Remember your life isn’t about reaching some end goal of ultimate comfort only to retire and then head off comfortably into the great beyond. It’s an ongoing creative process of exploration and excitement loaded with unlimited possibilities. But you have to be willing to reach for them. Tear through the wall. Step into something new—today.
Thanks for visiting. I just want to take a minute and express my gratitude for everyone who reads my work and sends me comments and encouragement. I love sharing my views with you and sincerely enjoy your participation in the discussion.
To see more of my work, please check out my blog and my book My Happy Workplace, currently free at most online eBook retailers.