Comfortably Uncomfortable?
In December of 2020, my grandfather passed away. Woah Erin…way to start with the depressing topic much! Don’t worry, this is not actually a sad story, you just really need to know this bit so that so the rest makes sense.
My wonderful grandfather was the happiest and most wonderful man I had ever met. He was the kind of man who could make you laugh even at the most inappropriate of times (much to my Grandmother’s dismay!) He had eyes that twinkled with joy and just a hint of devilment. In the 22 years that I knew him, I honestly cannot recall ever hearing a raised voice or even eyebrow for that matter. He was always smiling, always found happiness wherever he was in his life.
As he grew older, he suffered from dementia, and slowly his memory began to fade away. But the one thing he never even came close to losing was his happiness. To the very end he always had a smile that would light up a whole house never mind a room, he laughed all the time and was always so proud of his family. Even his crazy granddaughter who used to force him to watch Disney movies or listen to show tunes.
Why am I telling you all this you might think? Well, after he died, I was determined to let my grandfather’s spirit live on through me. So, I made a commitment to myself to actively search for happiness in my life, find a reason to smile and laugh every single day. This is what led to me wanting to take up journaling. So, with my steaming cup of tea (that I was going to leave for at least 10 minutes to drink because I cannot handle boiling drinks!), my Harry Potter notebook and sleep in my eyes, I looked for my first prompt to get me past that dreaded first page.
Have you been out of your comfort zone recently?
I’ll be honest with you, this really made me think for a while… far too much for early in the morning actually! So much so that I just knew that this is what my first blog post had to be about. As a self-confessed anxious person, I would say that I am out of my comfort zone every single day – whether that is a ZOOM meeting, my job, or even sending an email I can feel like I’m pushing my boundaries. An excellent example of being out of my comfort zone is joining the Young Playwrights Programme. I have never done anything like this before, I have never written a blog post before, and I have certainly never shared my writing before (except when I had to in school…hello to my English teachers if you happen to be reading this!)
However, despite this obvious leap out of my comfort zone, I
can honestly say that I am so excited! I am surrounded by such lovely,
wonderful, and supportive people who I feel confident to share my ideas and
thoughts with. I have been given such an incredible opportunity, even as I am
writing this, I have a massive Cheshire Cat grin on my face. Who knows what
this next year will hold, but that isn’t that the beauty of uncomfortable
zones? They can push you to become better, more confident, or even happier. So,
I will proudly say:
The Young Playwrights Programme is the most comfortable uncomfortable zone I have ever had the privilege of being part of!
For that, I have my wonderful grandfather to thank. He
reminded me of the importance of prioritising happiness, even if that means
leaving your comfort zone every once in a while.
The teacher part of me has to attempt to wrap everything up into a neat little lesson. So, I would say that we need to stop associating leaving our comfort zones with fear and threats. Sometimes, it is nice to stay cosy and warm in our safe space. But, sometimes, it can be so rewarding to make the effort to transform an uncomfortable zone into a comfortable one.
Erin Craighead
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