“I don’t want to ‘smash 10k months’. I want to be comfortable and have enough money to the point where I don’t have to panic if I have a slow day.” They say life begins at the end of your comfort zone. Not for Jo Watson! She loves her comfort zone. Here’s why.
In my opinion, the humble comfort zone carries a pretty unfair reputation.
It would seem that everyone is always so unbelievably keen to get away from their comfort zone, like it’s actually a zone of horror and despair or something,
At no time is this escape more well publicised than at the turn of a new year. According to social media, we’re not permitted to enter the next calendar year unless we declare huge, radical changes, that can only be made by – you guessed it – pushing yourself out of your comfort zone.
Not me, though. I bloody love my comfort zone.
Why? Because it’s fucking comfortable.
I could end this blog right here. But I won’t.
I don’t want to ‘smash 10k months’. I want to be comfortable and have enough money to the point where I don’t have to panic if I have a slow day.
I don’t want to ‘level up’ (whatever the fuck that means). I want to be comfortable in a business that already allows me to do what I love at work and at home.
I don’t want to do things purely because some self-appointed influencer or ‘number one best selling author’ (Christ, give me a break) tells me I should do it, because apparently following their method is the only definition of what true success really is. I want to be comfortable. Full stop.
As usual with everything I write, I don’t say these things to be controversial. I say them because I know there will be other people out there just like me who are thinking exactly the same. Yes, it’s good to have change and to seek newer, better things in your life for you and your loved ones. But if you don’t really need those things right now, don’t let this one night of the year cause you to think you’re going bloody nowhere because you’ve not made a resolution.
There’s nothing wrong with being or staying in your comfort zone, because if you can use the word “comfort” in relation to your position, then I’m going to go ahead and assume that you’re relatively happy right now. And that’s no bad place to be, is it?
If you do genuinely want to push yourself, and you know that the positive will outweigh the negative, that’s absolutely great and you should fucking go for it. I’ve been there, and I’ll visit again in the future. Great things could really happen. But, if you’re seeking to come out of that zone of comfort purely because some twat with more followers than unique thoughts has told you to do it, or because it’s New Year’s Eve, or because you feel you have to rather than really want to (probably social media behind that one), then I’d reconsider making that move. Put down your gym bag or laptop, and let’s really mull it over. Whilst eating biscuits.
It’s natural to want to use a key date to make a change, and New Year is as good as any, given the whole ‘new’ thing right there in the title. All I’m saying is, you don’t have to make any changes. If you had a good year, or you were happy with everything that did or didn’t happen, then why feel you have to force yourself? Because everyone else is supposedly doing it? Believe me, the people who make the most bloody noise about it online are probably the ones who’ll have gone quiet before the end of January.
I won’t lie, when anyone has said to me in the last year in relation to agoodwriteup that I need to scale up, I’ve considered it. I think you always have to at least weigh up these chances and opportunities, both in your personal life as well as in business. But the truth is, over the past three years in particular, I’ve pushed myself out of my comfort zone on more occasions than I can count (going full time self-employed being just one of those times). I also felt myself being shoved out of the good place against my intended plan of action (don’t even get me started on the arrival of the small child). On each occasion, I’ve aimed, I’ve stretched, and I’ve worked my arse off. I’m now presently in a place where I think, fuck it, this will do for me. I’m happy. I’m comfortable. So I’m going to stay here.
It seems to many in the motivation game that comfort isn’t an option, so my unmotivated arse is here to say it fucking well is. Sit down, look around you, and be happy. Let’s treat this day/night – if we must class it as special – as a period of reflection on all you’ve already worked hard for. Take a minute to consider that there will be things you’re doing that are actually really quite far out of other people’s comfort zones, and that they’d love to be where you are right now. For example, I speak on stage at events and don’t even bat an eyelid, because I’ve always done it in my career and I genuinely enjoy it. Most people would fucking hate it, and I completely get that. We all have something we’re good at and/or enjoy, that other people would have a breakdown even considering doing. Give yourself a break.
And just to reiterate… yes, I know that ‘life begins at the end of your comfort zone’, and that ‘outside of your comfort zone is where the magic happens’ and blah blah blah. I’m just putting forward the alternative option of staying inside of it for a little while. Somebody has to be in there to look after the cats, eat all the snacks, and make sure the Netflix subscription gets some use.
If you’re not happy for that person to be you, I’m happy (at least for now) for it to be me.
Happy New Year, everybody. Enjoy where you are, if you can.
This article was written by Jo Watson from agoodwriteup and has been published on LinkedIn.