Thank you very much for the feedback and for letting me know how it resonated. The main point for me is to find a balance between growing, pushing oneself out of area of comfort when there is no other way to grow, confronting fears and building a strong character in front of adversity, versus like it was said, having to adopt a cliche as if life has not even started until you are jumping of cliffs and being in a constant state of adrenaline pump! I feel that a natural requisite for growth has turned into a fad that I am concerned it is causing some general level of anxiety and dissatisfaction for many people.
I totally agree with what you're saying; it's important to find a balance that works individually as we're not the same... where we can be happy, content and safe but also where we push forward, we consciously do things that we've never done before or from which we learn the most.
Sebastian, I must say this is my favorite one! Just as I was already thinking that I was getting lazy and rusty not wanting to practice archery while walking on a rope hung above a mountain crevice:))) I think it’s all about a healthy balance and achieving that balance is a challenging adventure on its own. It’s well the time we stop neurotically living by someone else’s cliche ideas and follow our own paths. Great initiative with the Contrarian series!
I'll start by saying I love the "Contrarian" series and I cannot agree more with this topic and how well it's written and reflected on. I can totally relate to it as I don't see life as pieces in or out of comfort zones. When there's something I need to do I'll make it happen because I see value in it and not because it takes me out of my comfort zone or because I need to be out of my comfort zone to be able to grow. Let's give an example: camping for me would be something that would qualify as outside of my comfort zone. So I won't do it because I don't see any personal growth in not having the comfort I need. As I write this on a rainy Vancouver day reading a good book under a blanket would also qualify as comfort but it's not really as the book I'm reading is a business and self development book. This is where see growth happening within the comfort, warmth and safety of my home... and also reading Leadership Reflections and exchanging ideas with like minded people. Great writing Sebastian!
Nice article Sebastian. A comfort zone is another one of those useful but shaky mental models: like left brained, right brained. There should be a word for those, as I suspect most of your contrarian pov's will feature them.
For me, I think of the edge of my comfort zone as a place for learning. Sitting squarely in the middle, I will never learn anything new. Equally, I don't think any of us (since it's a flexible, fake model) go outside of our comfort zone. But the edge is where growth happens.
Thanks Gavin for the feedback! I agree and like the way you put it. I always had this reactive feeling to the idea of life not starting unless you are outside of your confort zone as if that in itself would be a requisite to start living. I get of course the metaphorical essence of the image to symbolize growth, which of course I agree with… but there’s thus cliche element that has always bothered me a bit. I think we can do better with our images because for some people things are hard and anxiety and inadequacy kick in not helping anyone. But of course that growth (or even achieving a difficult goal like losing weight) requires stepping outside and make efforts that at moments make feel painful but will yield great results!
Thank you very much for the feedback and for letting me know how it resonated. The main point for me is to find a balance between growing, pushing oneself out of area of comfort when there is no other way to grow, confronting fears and building a strong character in front of adversity, versus like it was said, having to adopt a cliche as if life has not even started until you are jumping of cliffs and being in a constant state of adrenaline pump! I feel that a natural requisite for growth has turned into a fad that I am concerned it is causing some general level of anxiety and dissatisfaction for many people.
I totally agree with what you're saying; it's important to find a balance that works individually as we're not the same... where we can be happy, content and safe but also where we push forward, we consciously do things that we've never done before or from which we learn the most.
Sebastian, I must say this is my favorite one! Just as I was already thinking that I was getting lazy and rusty not wanting to practice archery while walking on a rope hung above a mountain crevice:))) I think it’s all about a healthy balance and achieving that balance is a challenging adventure on its own. It’s well the time we stop neurotically living by someone else’s cliche ideas and follow our own paths. Great initiative with the Contrarian series!
Glad this one resonated so much!! Being the “favorite” is high stakes for any future one!! 😊
Pressure is on Sebastian 😀
😊😊
I am a strong believer in multiple favourites :)
😊
I hear you Oksana! I'm also saying no to practicing archery while walking on a rope above a mountain crevice 😀 among other things I won't do...
😊
I'll start by saying I love the "Contrarian" series and I cannot agree more with this topic and how well it's written and reflected on. I can totally relate to it as I don't see life as pieces in or out of comfort zones. When there's something I need to do I'll make it happen because I see value in it and not because it takes me out of my comfort zone or because I need to be out of my comfort zone to be able to grow. Let's give an example: camping for me would be something that would qualify as outside of my comfort zone. So I won't do it because I don't see any personal growth in not having the comfort I need. As I write this on a rainy Vancouver day reading a good book under a blanket would also qualify as comfort but it's not really as the book I'm reading is a business and self development book. This is where see growth happening within the comfort, warmth and safety of my home... and also reading Leadership Reflections and exchanging ideas with like minded people. Great writing Sebastian!
Nice article Sebastian. A comfort zone is another one of those useful but shaky mental models: like left brained, right brained. There should be a word for those, as I suspect most of your contrarian pov's will feature them.
For me, I think of the edge of my comfort zone as a place for learning. Sitting squarely in the middle, I will never learn anything new. Equally, I don't think any of us (since it's a flexible, fake model) go outside of our comfort zone. But the edge is where growth happens.
Thanks Gavin for the feedback! I agree and like the way you put it. I always had this reactive feeling to the idea of life not starting unless you are outside of your confort zone as if that in itself would be a requisite to start living. I get of course the metaphorical essence of the image to symbolize growth, which of course I agree with… but there’s thus cliche element that has always bothered me a bit. I think we can do better with our images because for some people things are hard and anxiety and inadequacy kick in not helping anyone. But of course that growth (or even achieving a difficult goal like losing weight) requires stepping outside and make efforts that at moments make feel painful but will yield great results!