Every person operating within a creative field will tell you that one of the common reasons for constant procrastination and demotivation at times of creating is comfort. In most scenarios, comfort and confidence should work in your favour, whether you are trying to impress your love partner with a romantic getaway or persuade your boss that you are the right person for the position. So how can a positive aspect in one's day-to-day life unintentionally become the ultimate killer to someone’s creative process? In this article, we will take a look at the many reasons comfort can both work in helping you throughout your creative journey, and also work against your self-improvement in the long run. But first, what is meant by comfort?

What is meant by comfort?

Depending on the profession you are personally interested in and the skill sets needed for you to complete your everyday tasks, comfort will have a range of different meanings for a variety of artisans. However, the word ‘comfort’ for creative individuals particularly refers to a mental state of ease and closely ties in with one's daily routine. As your mind and body begin to experience more and more familiarity, it will naturally put less effort into challenging the output of your work. In that sense, the less questions you ask and the less curious you become. Moreover, this also appears across patterns of fulfilling expectations at an early stage of one's artistic career for example, and therefore, no longer pushing oneself further than imaginable, since the space of comfort you have found yourself in is already believed to be enough and perhaps the one result you wished for all along. At this point, you have in a way convinced yourself that your work has already reached its highest potential, and therefore, there is no need for you to risk it all.

Misconceptions

Contrary to what many believe, productivity during times of lacking progression can be as simple as a temporary change of environment and does not require a complete 180 degree turn from your routine. This belief would thoroughly rule out the importance of discipline and its place in succession in both one's personal and professional life. Putting yourself in financial struggle and relationship constraint can be options to boost your creative juices and motivate one to try different avenues again; however, there are undeniably much safer and less self-harming alternatives for the exact same or similar results. After all, the objective here is maintaining a certain sense of curiosity to assure your creative gain and not always hit roadblocks. Furthermore, how much importance you put behind your self-improvement all depends on the goals you set for yourself and how high you choose to place them. On that note, for the time being, comfort can play a major part in your short-term achievements and be one of the reasons you were able to keep your persistence. However, I wholeheartedly believe that one should never settle for convenience and always reset one's goals as one progresses and more obstacles then surface. One way or another, you will have to put yourself in what may at first glance look like an uncomfortable or difficult situation, but will end up being much more rewarding than sticking to your guns. It is crucial for an artist, and everyone for that matter, to shake things up a bit every now and then, in hopes of keeping one on their toes and making sure that you never fall short of what you could have done and who you could have become.

Take risks!

Sometimes the most difficult decisions to take are the most vital ones to your potential development. What prevents a lot of young people from taking risks for the sake of growth is the fear of causing irreversible damages, and in the end, ruining what one has already worked hard for. However, how could one possibly then expect change from a place of familiarity and reassurance? Albert Einstein once so famously stated; “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” What is not asked of you is to break a leg in the process of change, but moreso, to try and step out of your comfort zone and explore the options that come with it. In the long run, there is a higher chance of you losing more credibility in staying within your safe space than exploring the many possibilities inside and all around you.

In addition, there is a sense of beauty and gratitude that always comes with hardship. Success is not meant to come easy; the most impactful changes are not meant to be easy decisions to take, and to reach your true potential, who you could possibly become is not always meant to be achieved via the safest route. However, it should never be a means to live in fear. Au contraire, you should use them to your advantage and help them push you further than your mind lets you believe. A lot of times, our fears are based on traumas and memories of past defeat, but the moment we choose to let them define us and our actions, that is when fear consumes us and wins. What you want is to use your fears to overcome obstacles and not to let them belittle you. If we were to generalise, the greatest minds of our time all have something in common; they never stopped asking questions and they never believed to have fulfilled their purpose in this world.

In conclusion, do not make a conscious effort to never ever take any risks and stay within your comfort zone because it is easier to do so and because of the fear of failure and of making mistakes. If you are someone who is afraid to make mistakes, just know that it is the best way of being taught and there are never enough lessons for you to learn. Do not let your short-term achievements distract you from the main objective of long-term persistence and growth, both as a person and artist. Finally, comfort can come in handy for setting up standards and a routine that promotes stability, but your inner child should always push you to challenge your creative muscle and desire to reach new goals.