Comfort Zone!

It’s been a while since I last posted (wait, have I posted something like this before?hmm) with this kind of tone on my entry. As many of you know, I am someone who really talks a lot---when I say a lot, it means A LOT! I don’t know if that’s a good quality for a guy because we all know that girls do that more often than we do, but having one isn’t as bad as most of you think. So, let’s talk.
Before we start, I would like to thank all of you for visiting my blog (you’re right; I write and my other blog for my photographs.) It’s quite overwhelming that I get so many visits on these sites regardless of what I post. Thank you so much!
Let's get started.
While browsing on Facebook earlier, I came across with something I’ve posted two years ago. It says, ‘Expand your comfort zone to make you a better person.’ Damn, I don’t even remember posting such thing. Anyway, thank you for that because that gave me an idea of what my entry would be like, which is expanding your comfort zone.
To give you a better understanding of what comfort zone really is, I will give you something that I found on the web. It states that, ‘comfort zone is a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk (White 2009). I hope that didn’t scare you for reading my entry today. Trust me, this entry will be worthy of your time. Wait, I expect you to read this entry because for goodness sakes, you’re on my blog, and that being said, you’re supposed to read my blog entries, right?!

What I am going to talk about is not the ability to try new things nor exploring possible actions with your talents, but rather taking the word ‘comfort’ and splitting it from the word ‘zone’ to form or incorporate new ideas to form a whole new idea. I know this doesn’t make a lot of sense to you now, but you’ll get it before you reach the end of this entry. We all know what comfort is, but do we really know the essence of such word. It’s like saying that your parents bought you chocolates and the first thing that comes into your mind is its sweetness, right? But the essence of the word isn’t something like that, but rather the opposites. We often get too COMFORT-able with the word that it loses its meaning. It’s like saying ‘I love you, I miss you’ to your loved ones too often. Sorry guys, but we’re not going to talk about that because the word ‘love’ itself is too complicated. Anyway, back to comfort, as I’ve said awhile ago, the essence of the word is the opposite of that word. Does it ring a bell to you? To give you an understanding, I will give a few examples so that you will be able to visualize it using your brain and a little bit common sense.
I remember telling a friend who once said that she is in love. I told her, ‘are you really in love or you are in love with the idea of love.’ The idea of love itself is like saying she’s having an illusion of being in love. Don’t judge me, I just think way too much. Anyway, back to my examples.
Chocolates, candies, ice creams, and pastries. For some, they may call it as COMFORT foods. To me, it is called reward. Why? Think about it. In order for someone to enjoy those I have mentioned above, it requires a considerable amount of time. To better understand, try reading the definition of the word hardship.
Travel and Leisure, Again, these may be called comfort. But to me, it’s called reward. C’mon, how would someone be able to afford these if it wasn’t for their hardships, right? I know, I think way too much!
Support, warmth, and comfort. These are all the same if you’ll base it on the word itself, but to me, it’s the consequence of your past actions.
Basically, comfort to me is the consequence of your past actions. Again, we are talking about the essence of the word, and not just the word itself. As I have said, it’s the consequence of your past actions. Take my example above (number 3), I do know for a fact that these are all synonyms of the word, but the essence of it is something we did in our past. Assuming that someone needs support, warmth, or comfort; that someone must have done something good in his/her past in order to get what he/she needs. Imagine, if you’re someone who is hated by everyone because of your actions, do you think you will get any of what I’ve mentioned above? Of course not! To make it short, the word comfort should not be used to define simple or complex pleasures, but rather a motivation to get what you want. Would it be nice to enjoy the pleasure of life after working your ass off for many years---that sounds very fun especially if you’re sick and tired doing something you don’t want to do, or at least enjoy what you’re doing. So, motivation and comfort should come together, and not comfort and pleasure. Yeah, I think way too much!
Let's get started, again!
Zone is a place, area, or section. Yeah, simple as that---not really! The word may be simple as defined, but rather complex when explained. I am really sorry if I made it hard for you to understand what’s going through my mind. And yeah, I love to think, too! I am fascinated how simple things were, but once it gets more complex, I tend to think the essence of it rather than its definition. Anyway, back to zone. It may be good to incorporate the word zone to comfort because the reward for your past actions will vary from one point to another. Again, I know that what I just said isn’t as easy to decipher, but I hope that you will get my point before reaching the end of this entry. The definition is right. Zone is a place, area, or section. But the essence of it isn’t as simple as that. To me, the word zone is also a motivational factor to get the reward that we want. Like comfort, zone is the consequence of your past actions. For example, during our time in high school, we see bunch of students (friends or acquaintances) in a room doing the same thing again and again (listening to lectures, writing notes, gossips and such!) and the reward after being stuck there for a while is quite fulfilling---graduation. To make it simple, zone can be referred to as stairs (upstairs or downstairs) depending on where you are going. It’s a step that varies from one point to another, a step that can either make or break you. Of course, it all depends on how you take your wheel---the freedom to choose is in your hands!
Going back to my status I have posted two years ago, ‘Expand your comfort zone to make you a better person.’ Yes, we all need to learn somehow. Learning is a continuous process. Past actions made us what we are today. Learn from it and make the necessary changes. With these, we can all enjoy the ‘comfort zone’ I just talked about. Reflect and give an effort to touch the lives of others. Don’t just sit there and do nothing, and waste your time thinking what you should’ve done, but rather think of what you can do to change it. Expanding your comfort zone is like saying ‘Hey, I might have done something in the past, but I’m here to change it and trust me, I won’t do the same mistake twice!’ Learn from it and change it when necessary. The essence of ‘comfort zone’ is not the same as you’ve mastered certain things or comfortable doing what you’re used to. The essence of it is the reward of getting something you have learned from the past and applying those you have learned in the future. If done correctly, expanding your comfort zone to make you a better person is quite fulfilling. So, don’t worry if you consider yourself as ‘Jack of all trades,’ learn from it and change it---you might get the King’s Queen as a reward!