Everyday Canvas

Out of the Comfort Zone

Prompt: Groucho Marx was known for his witty commentary, one of my favorites is "Die, my dear? Why, that's the last thing I'll do." What's the last thing you'll do? Have you stepped out of your comfort zone lately? Tell us about it.

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I agree with Groucho in that dying will be the last thing I’ll do. As to getting out of my comfort zone, I do it quite often, although I don’t advertise it. There are many positives to stepping out of our comfort zones. To begin with, we become most honest with ourselves when we are faced with real fear around an unfamiliar situation or an outcome. In that sense, we are escaping the comfort zone, which can be a self-imposed prison.

My last out-of comfort zone experience, when it comes to writing, was the novel in NaNo, if I don’t count my little everyday step-outs. I have done NaNo several times before, but this one was difficult. Not only it required a mother story but twenty short stories (related or unrelated) in it. This is no biggie, if I had taken at least four months to do it, or if I had at least a decent outline for each story plus the framing story. No, I started it with nothing, no prep, just the idea and wrote by pantsing it in November. I am happy about it because I finished it, although it definitely needs a rewrite with the deletion of some of the short stories, since they are crowding out the mother story’s impact. But, guess what? I am not rewriting it.

I have lived out of my comfort zone in much bigger ways during my life, and I didn’t blink while taking the first step. Except, I’ve grown old and l value my creature comforts more now. So, stepping out is confined within the perimeters of things that won’t make me sick physically, mentally, or emotionally.