We spend our lives striving, in most instances, to be in environments that make us happy, comfortable, and safe. The desire for comfort is to appease our need to relax, enjoy, kick back and just be present. When we’re comfortable, we’re stress-free, content, and serene. The aspect of being safe is extremely important as it enables us to be comfortable and happy. We are more productive when we function in a state of being comfortable. This could be our workplace, our home, our social environment, any venue, or space that we frequent.

In addition to our individual feelings of comfort, we must consider the people present and the environment. Have you ever been with a group of people you felt ‘comfortable’ being around, yet the space you were in was uncomfortable? What was going on with the venue/space? Was it different in some way? How long were you there before you felt or noticed the difference? How were you impacted by this difference? If this hasn’t been your experience, let’s use your imagination!

The group has decided to meet at a new location nearby called The Big Top. No one has been to the venue, so everyone was looking forward to the experience. You ride together and share stories of prior outings which had been fun and how you should plan to return. You arrive at the restaurant. The outside looks inviting.

The most obvious difference is the décor. The decorations are very colorful and very different. The art on the ceiling is unlike any you’ve ever seen. Fabric flows from the ceiling to the floor covering all the wall space. Images on the fabric seem to move very slowly from a breeze created by a nearby fan, as if they were coming alive. Looking around you see square dining tables covered in white lace and adorned with edible flowers or edible flower centerpieces. Continuing to look around, you notice waiters dressed in full ringleader attire taking orders, and servers dressed as circus performers & clowns! As servers entered the dining area, the aroma from the kitchen is intoxicating, totally different to what you’d experienced. Surveying the room, there are tables of people who seem to be enjoying the food. It looks awesome! You hear a table complimenting the waiter on their meal. Everyone present appears to be enjoying themselves as you hear voices above the background music.

Now give this some thought. The plan was to go to the new restaurant. Done. Once there, remind yourself you had no idea what to expect so there should be no disappointments, unless you were unconsciously expecting to have the same, or very similar experience that you’ve had in the past.

Because this was different, how do you feel? What emotions do you experience? How would you describe how you feel? I think we sometimes ‘lump’ our uncomfortable experiences into a single word, different. When we do this, we deny ourselves the opportunity to experience personal enjoyment from the new experience. Your senses are responding   yet you’re holding back. Specifically identify what isn’t enjoyable. How are you uncomfortable? If you’re afraid of clowns, I understand.

Consider this:  New experiences are usually uncomfortable because they aren’t familiar. We want our lives to be different, better, whatever. Yet we aren’t open to experiences that will enable this to happen. We aren’t willing to put in the time because we’ll be uncomfortable. But we want the rewards/benefits we haven’t earned.

 We have choices in life. We can enrich our lives by stepping out of our comfort zone to experience life. Instead of running away or not acknowledging differences, seek them out. They aren’t hard to find. Sometimes these different experiences expand our awareness of ourselves and help us grow. To accept differences around us, we must first know what our comfort level is with new experiences.

When we make quick decisions about what we think may be uncomfortable, we lose the benefit of the experiences involved in the process. Like the iceberg, you’re only seeing the top and missing the good stuff below. Identify where your comfort level ends, determine why, identify possible solutions, and benefits.

We form in our minds parameters to live by. They help make us happy, comfortable, and safe. Going outside of these parameters will be uncomfortable. There is no way we can be comfortable 24/7 and function in the world. Life and living are about new and different experiences. And we know new experiences are stepping stones to success.