Be a "Yes Man!" (or woman) -- Step Outside your Comfort Zone

     When you leave your comfort zone, you open yourself up to things you could never experience within it. You open the doors of life and allow yourself to experience new places, people, ideas; you open the door for more opportunities, opportunities that not only create new thrills, enjoyments, and satisfactions, but also new problems, difficulties, and dilemmas to which you and only you must find a solution. With every new problem you solve and every new difficulty you overcome you expand your comfort zone and, in turn, must once again force yourself out of it. Complacency is the enemy of this expansion; you must make a habit of continually forcing yourself to leave your comfort zone in any and every way possible. It can be as simple as trying a food you've never tried before or as drastic as quitting your job and moving to a new city. You can move to a new country and learn a new language, or you can sign up for yoga classes at the studio a few blocks from your house. The magnitude of the change is not what’s important; what’s important is capitalizing on every opportunity to experience something new. Certainly, there are times when a big change just isn't practical, but there is no excuse for turning down the chance to try new things in everyday life.

     As mediocre to slightly-above-average as it may have been, the movie Yes, Man is a perfect example of this philosophy. For those who haven't seen it, Jim Carrey plays a man named Carl who, in the wake a divorce, absolutely refuses to try new things. Every decision Carl makes is based solely on how he can best remain in his comfort zone. When he decides to commit to a "self-help" method that requires him to say "yes" to every proposition that comes his way, his life takes a drastic turn for the better. Eventually, though, all of his new commitments become unmanageable and he realizes that the point is not to literally say "yes" to everything, but simply to open yourself up to new possibilities and experiences.

     Realistically, you are never going to be able to take advantage of every opportunity that comes your way. But if you live each day with a real desire to leave your comfort zone, odds are you're going to end up being able to do so more often than not. Although the fact remains that we, as humans, seem to be inherently drawn towards what is comfortable. No matter how well you live by this standard of non-complacency, there will come a time when you fall into a particular comfort zone. Luckily, I think our subconscious has a natural way of recognizing when we become stagnant, or stuck in one comfort zone for too long. You'll start to feel a little bored on a day-to-day basis; you may still enjoy your activities and even retain a general happiness, but eventually, in the back of your mind, you'll notice a nagging desire, like an itch you can't scratch, for change.

     This is where I currently find myself (and I assume that most of my readers are around my age and in the same general position). At 22 years old, with five and a half months, one more full semester, and a 30-50 page thesis still standing between myself and graduation in May, I've already noticed my itch for a change. And although I can't do so just yet, this is an itch that can be scratched. But there is a bright side.

     While my inability to shake up my life too drastically is providing me with plenty of lemons at the moment, I do get to drink my lemonade while I take the next half year to spend some quality time deciding how, exactly, I'm going to scratch this itch, as well as trying to prepare myself as best I can (financially and otherwise) to do so. Right now, I think I'd like to move to Europe for a few months; maybe even try to find a job there. But I've also considered a change of scenery within the country, maybe to California, maybe elsewhere. Hell, I still may decide to apply for the Peace Corps.

     If you want to continue to grow as a person, as an individual, you've got to be willing to occasionally sacrifice your comfort zone. It really is a low price to pay in exchange for the excitement of experiencing a new job, new city, or new country, full of new people and fresh ideas. With a land surface area of almost 58 million square miles and a population of over 7 billion people, it’s safe to say that, for all intents and purposes, there are an immeasurable amount of ways the rest of your life can pan out; and the best part is, you get to choose! If you're reading this blog, then I'm sure you are one of the (unfortunately too few) people in this world that has the privilege of being in control of their own destiny. In this day and age, with the technology that we have at our disposal, we really do have the whole world at our finger tips, and I truly believe that to choose to ignore this privilege is a total and complete waste of your life.

     Of course, you have to remember that we aren't leaving our old lives behind every time we decide to make a change. It’s not a matter of moving from one distinct comfort zone to the next but a forced, continual expansion of the same comfort zone. Each new experience becomes part of your constantly changing self. Every new experience helps to shape, or reshape, who you are as a person. And the best part is that you don't have to leave your old experiences behind to enjoy new ones; when you make new friends you don't have to forget about the old ones. Sure, we all lose touch with old friends over time; but the best ones seem to have a way of sticking around.

     The point is, live your life with an aggressive and passionate desire to leave your comfort zone as frequently and as drastically as possible. Don't allow yourself to become complacent. Never stop trying new things. Never stop growing as a person. Never stop trying to scratch that impossible itch. Do this and I assure you, you'll live a long (okay, I can't guarantee that part) and happy life.