COMFORT IS OVERRATED

The first time I heard “comfort is overrated” was on a men’s weekend and I thought the man who said that had lost his mind. I have worked many years to create some comfort in my life and now I was being told what I had worked towards was overrated. Why do all this emotional work if the end product might be more discomfort?

These are some really good questions and it led me to even better questions. The biggest one was “What change in my life that has had a significant impact on me was born out of comfort?” Not one that I can think of. Every major significant change in my life has come from either too much pain or a desire to get more pleasure……. both finding their home in discomfort.

I have been going through a lot of changes in the last 10 years of my life, most of which define who I am and what I do today. Each of these changes were born out of discomfort. I used to think that change was easier for me because I am a highly creative person…..wrong. Change is not easy for anyone. I also had the misconception that if I just do _______ then I will be happy……wrong again……..happiness is the journey not the destination.

So what I have discovered is that it’s not about comfort or discomfort as it is about the balance between the two. With too much comfort I become static and I stop living life……and with too much discomfort, my life can be miserable. I work on finding this fluid place of balance I can live life fully and yet keep stretching and finding opportunities to grow…….. yet another reminder why I have the word “hope” in my name (Stanhope)……..Having Opportunities Present Everywhere………because I know hope is not overrated…….not in my world.