Remember the “Twilight Zone” TV series? Purportedly about mysterious events and goings-on in the realm of the paranormal? Well, there’s a new zone, and it’s called the Comfort Zone. So much hype has been created around it, so I decided to weigh in.

First of all, you can’t always be living outside your comfort zone. You need your comfort zone in order to be able to sleep well. You need to sleep well because you are designed as a diurnal creature, not a nocturnal one, and sleep is absolutely essential for your body, and, I suspect, your mind, will and emotions, to rejuvenate. Even soldiers in the field and those unused to working in conditions other than what most of us are used to, meaning cozy urban homes, make themselves as comfortable as possible. You need a comfort zone if you need a place you can go lurk and lick wounds.

Next, you’ll absolutely die if you remain in your comfort zone forever.  You do need to get out and explore the territory around you as much as you can. Get used to the tastes and preferences of others. Check out new ways of doing things. Become more aware about what’s trending around your own niche. Or just get some variety and get a life.

Finally, and here’s where I weigh in, have you considered whether those two paradigms are real? Consider this – we NEVER need to leave our comfort zone if we keep probing and keep growing constantly. Even if we take a “leap of faith”, so to speak, we are still bringing our “comfort zone” with us. You don’t take a space walk if you don’t have your spacesuit on, do you? And you don’t dive to 120 feet without your oxygen tank. Flippers and mask, too, I hope. In fact, where diving is concerned, you can’t even surface too quickly, or you might die of the bends. Anyone reading this ever leaped off an aircraft in mid-air or a very tall building or cliff face without parachute, glider or some other piece of equipment? Right, I didn’t think so either. Likewise, we need to keep getting better and just keep growing more and more as who we are and what we do.

That, I feel, is the real issue about all the hype with comfort zones. Spoilt brats of victims refusing to grow. Of course, you’re reading this, so you’re not one of them. If you happen to meet one, do help them grow up, will you?