Perils of the Comfort Zone

Life, was never meant to be easy. The maker did not deign it to be so. But every once in a while, we humans device ways to outsmart life. To find our niche, our corner, the familiar place which we know all about, where we, are king. We iron out all the chinks, account for each variable, plan in advance for it and Voila!! all of a sudden life seems so easy, so predictable, so secure. Wouldn't we all like to live a life like this?

Or would we?


We've been growing all our lives. But when was it that we grew up? We have all switched schools, had our first day in college, moved out of our beloved homes, and along with these major milestones, major changes were thrust into our lives. It took great courage to face the first morning after incorporating these changes, but we took it in our stride, sometimes with a tremendous amount of effort. If we look back, we will inevitably realise that most of our growth took place during these periods of transition. Up to this point in our lives, these choice to effect change had to be made out of compulsion, and not out of our own will to grow. Most of us chose a well charted route, one where all the potential pit falls were highlighted and the shortest distance already determined.

Establishing a routine can be a very tricky thing. By tricky i don't refer to the process of its establishment but rather to the ramifications. While a routine brings peace and tranquility, it usually blunts the edge we spent out entire lives sharpening. When things start to get easy, maybe its time to pinch ourselves and ask why it is so. This is especially relevant when unlike finishing education and starting work, which is inevitable, the choice to affect the change has to be consciously made by the individual.

Adaptation is central to evolution. As Newton said, acceleration or change requires work and energy. Although affecting this change will undoubtedly require great effort and determination, it will unquestionably save us from the "boiling frog" phenomenon. If life seems very easy, maybe its time to leave the well charted and take the road less travelled.

I shall be telling this with a sigh
Somewhere ages and ages hence:
Two roads diverged in a wood, and I —
I took the one less traveled by,
And that has made all the difference.
-Robert Frost