It's human nature. We want to be comfortable - it's certainly far more pleasant than being uncomfortable!
The issue is that we are prone to seeking comfort over discomfort, often at our own expense. Be it financially, physically, mentally, personally, many of our bigger issues in life could have been prevented or at least minimized if we had avoided falling into that comfort trap.
It really is a trap, and one I have fallen for many times, but in two areas in particular.
A few years ago I was working a job I didn't mind. My income was comfortable, I enjoyed the company, my work was predictable, and I had my network and I 'knew' opportunities would abound when I decided to move on. Life wasn't perfect, but it was good and I was - you guessed it - comfortable. I stopped relentlessly pursuing my skill building, further certifications, or training. I didn't worry about networking outside my company and contacts. I had my job, it seemed stable, I had plenty of contacts in my company, and I was - comfortable.
I had started to explore opportunities outside of my current role at that time, and training for my replacement was scheduled over the next several months. While I didn't appreciate the replacement before I had a position, at the time I was still confident I would be able to land a position in the line of work I wanted, so I wasn't too worried. My network was strong, and my reputation preceded me.
Then, we got blindsided by the COVID-19 pandemic. The company immediately started massive layoffs and company wide hiring freezes even on "essential" or vacated roles. I still didn't see the writing on the wall, but continued to enjoy my comfort, figuring it wouldn't last long and I'd still get one of those positions I had been interviewing for just before the freeze - I mean, I was a shoe-in for a couple, so why panic?
As you can probably guess by now, that didn't happen. The layoffs continued throughout the year, and while hiring some positions did restart, far more had been laid off and were looking for work than ever before. My internal contacts and connections weren't much help outside of the company. Eventually, my replacement was trained and there was no other work for me in my role....and the layoff happened.
Long story short, I paid heavily for falling into the comfort trap. Both mentally and financially, it has been a long crawl back, and I'm still working back to where I was prior to the pandemic, but much closer to where I expected to be just before it hit...unfortunately too late to prevent some longer term effects.
I did, however, learn several huge lessons that will serve me well in the years to come. One of those lessons is to NEVER fall for the comfort trap. Whether it's your health or your job or your relationship - do not ever take it for granted. Every day you need to work on it, maintain it, put in effort. Always grow, even if it's just a "touch." Heed the warning signs, but be prepared even if there is no warning. Never fall for comfort. Enjoy having some comfort, but never get comfortable.
Sadly I've seen this comfort trap hurt so many people. Be it not worrying about one's fitness and later in life having major complications because of it, or not caring that your favorite beverage is harmful and then fall prey to life threatening side effects years down the line, or like me, not putting extra time and effort into future career planning and having that burn you.
The good news is that we can prevent ourselves from falling into this trap. Follow for future blogs where I discuss some of the specific changes I have made in my life and the dramatic changes they have resulted in.
Comfort is nice, but being comfortable can be dangerous....
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