Everyone has a particular place in their life where they feel the most comfortable. This place could physical, such as your childhood bedroom, or it could be a state of mind that you travel to for inner peace and better mental health. Comfort zones sound amazing- I mean, what’s not to love about being carefree? However, there is a time and place for every comfort zone, and, sometimes, we all stay in our little bubbles of protection rather than pushing ourselves to be braver, bolder, and more adventurous in our daily lives.
I’ll give you an example. Picture this: You have always had the same friends, the same schedule in your daily life, same job routine. You are in your so called “comfort zone”, happy with the niche you have carved out for yourself. One day, you get a job opportunity from the company of your dreams. All expenses to move are paid for, and you would receive a better income, along with the chance to grow as an individual. Still, you can’t seem to make yourself go. You struggle with the fact you’ll be on your own in a new place, having to climb the ladder at work all over again; it just doesn’t feel worth it.
This is where most people rely on their stable conditions as an excuse to stay in their comfort zones- their self-satisfaction stands in the way of their options. These people would choose to be “just okay” with the way things are instead of chancing their future, only because they are afraid of the challenges that might lie ahead; they believe the burden of change will be too much for them.
Let’s get one thing straight. This decision will make or break a person. Most often, the people who choose to reside in their comfort zones will continue to use this as an excuse for every passing opportunity until there are no chances left and they are eternally forced to remain in the state they put themselves in. Complacency kills creativity, and we are more often than not so satisfied with being average that we overlook the possibilities our future would hold when we take advantage of our surrounding choices.
Robert Frost said it best when he stated, “Two roads diverged in a wood, and I, I took the one less traveled by.” It made all the difference for him, why couldn’t that happen for us?
I really liked the approached you took with topic. It really conveys the idea that if you stay in your comfort zones you may miss out on many great opportunities. I also really liked the quote you added at the end and the question behind it. It really resonated with me.
I really like how you show how comfort zones can be applied to life and then compare that to how they can affect us in a literary sense. I also like the reference at the end to “The Road Not Taken”.