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Embrace the comfort zone.
a year ago
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*** Direct from the keyboard of Jeeves the Bunny, providing literary lewdness for the furry fandom to enjoy. ^^ ***
Recently (literally a few minutes ago lmao) I was about to articulate a feeling I've had for quite a while. And, I really don't know if it's something with any real value or if it's just a totally personal surface level and obvious comment that won't mean much to anyone else. Buuut, I thought I'd share it here anyway, because I felt happy with how I was able to express it.
People often say they need to leave their comfort zone to make "better art". But, if being in that zone is what helps them to create pieces at a time when they're busy with lots of other life stuff and maybe don't have the bandwidth to also push boundaries in the artistic areas of their life, isn't that better than not being able to create at all? Isn't that better than not getting the practice that comes with actually doing something creative and reinforcing those skills, if they don't have the energy, time or resources to push their boundaries to some new degree?
If a person wants to try new directions with their work and hasn't been able to do so, I can definitely see that being disappointing and genuinely a reason to feel like they haven't achieved what they wanted to. Totally valid to feel that way, even if they know why and how their time is being taken up in ways that mean they don't have the energy for those new projects. But yeah, I'd encourage anyone who feels that way to be kinder to themselves when it comes to saying that they're letting themselves down or failing themselves and their creativity by staying in their comfort zone. To be kinder to themselves when it comes to creating stuff that is relaxing and comforting (and hopefully fun as a part of that comfort) and not something that has to be pushed and fought and struggled to achieve every step of the way as some big learning experience.
Imo, and this really is just my opinion based on personal experience so take all of this for whatever that's worth, the 'comfort zone' isn't something that should be avoided or replaced by new and more challenging/intricate skills or projects or whatever. The comfort zone is something we all need to reach a baseline level of contentment and happiness, and then, if we have energy left over after reaching that point, we can if we choose to do so, motivate ourselves to try new things and develop new skills.
But if someone tries to replace the comfort zone with the new more untested and challenging stuff, that's when they might get burned out and end up "falling back" into the comfort zone to recharge. And that's when the comfort zone can start to feel like somewhere a person goes when they've failed. Somewhere they go when they're unable to move forward, rather than a place to start setting themselves up for success.
So, yeah! Don't think of the comfort zone as a bad thing. Embrace it, use it as a springboard to push yourself to new heights, but never be afraid to spend lots of fun time there, especially if it means the difference between creating something comfortable and familiar, or creating nothing at all. <3
People often say they need to leave their comfort zone to make "better art". But, if being in that zone is what helps them to create pieces at a time when they're busy with lots of other life stuff and maybe don't have the bandwidth to also push boundaries in the artistic areas of their life, isn't that better than not being able to create at all? Isn't that better than not getting the practice that comes with actually doing something creative and reinforcing those skills, if they don't have the energy, time or resources to push their boundaries to some new degree?
If a person wants to try new directions with their work and hasn't been able to do so, I can definitely see that being disappointing and genuinely a reason to feel like they haven't achieved what they wanted to. Totally valid to feel that way, even if they know why and how their time is being taken up in ways that mean they don't have the energy for those new projects. But yeah, I'd encourage anyone who feels that way to be kinder to themselves when it comes to saying that they're letting themselves down or failing themselves and their creativity by staying in their comfort zone. To be kinder to themselves when it comes to creating stuff that is relaxing and comforting (and hopefully fun as a part of that comfort) and not something that has to be pushed and fought and struggled to achieve every step of the way as some big learning experience.
Imo, and this really is just my opinion based on personal experience so take all of this for whatever that's worth, the 'comfort zone' isn't something that should be avoided or replaced by new and more challenging/intricate skills or projects or whatever. The comfort zone is something we all need to reach a baseline level of contentment and happiness, and then, if we have energy left over after reaching that point, we can if we choose to do so, motivate ourselves to try new things and develop new skills.
But if someone tries to replace the comfort zone with the new more untested and challenging stuff, that's when they might get burned out and end up "falling back" into the comfort zone to recharge. And that's when the comfort zone can start to feel like somewhere a person goes when they've failed. Somewhere they go when they're unable to move forward, rather than a place to start setting themselves up for success.
So, yeah! Don't think of the comfort zone as a bad thing. Embrace it, use it as a springboard to push yourself to new heights, but never be afraid to spend lots of fun time there, especially if it means the difference between creating something comfortable and familiar, or creating nothing at all. <3
Chaossymbol
~chaossymbol
Sounds like good advice. I can see both sides, but if someone wants to try something new, they should do so on their own accord and not because they feel forced to. But yes, it can feel like you failed when you don't make that jump ^^;
