Menu home about CKD class schedule links photos newsletter guestbook contact us		Online Newsletter < Back to Main Newsletter Page   On the Dangers of the Comfort Zone March 15, 2005 One day last summer I was working on my golf swing and having some trouble keeping the ball where I needed it to go. Having exhausted all means of personal golf education and coming up empty, I decided to employ a local PGA professional to help me with my problems. Within the first few minutes of our first session together, he had me moving my hands on the golf club grip quite a bit differently than I normally would put my hands. A few hits later, told me this was the right way to hold the club in order to alleviate my swing problems. However, I said to the Pro "This doesn't feel right," to which he said back "It's not supposed to feel comfortable! When it was comfortable, you were doing it wrong. Now you are hitting the ball on the right plane and getting the results you wanted in the first place." And so it goes with life. How easy it is for us to fall into the comfort zone trap. It's that after work beer, the morning cigarette, late night snacking, that Coke in the early afternoon. Or maybe it's the relationship you would like to end but don't, or the job that you hate, but that you tolerate because you know what to expect. We get comfortable with things that we become FAMILIAR WITH. People are creatures of habit, plain and simple. And don't think that you are the only one like this…everybody is like this to varying degrees. The comfort zone trap can take you, make you insulated from outside stimuli, and lock you into a world of no growth, all while offering a false sense of security. Along with this comfort comes a passive mindset that this is as good as it gets for you, an acceptance of less than what you are capable of. We must learn to fight these feelings at every turn. Why? Simply, growth is discomfort. Perfection is a chore. A wise man once said "If thou hurtest in thy efforts and thou sufferest painful dings, then thou art DOING IT RIGHT!!" If attainment of any grand goal was easy, then everyone would have it, but life does not work that way, does it? It is in our best interests to continue to grow, allowing discomfort to be our guide. Notice I did not say PAIN and INJURY. Growth can and must be accomplished by small steps, taken incrementally, to achieve larger and larger goals. Indeed the most successful among us do just that, building upon previous growth to attain new heights of accomplishment. The higher the goal, the more steps needed, the more introspection demanded. Choi Kwang Do is a micro version of this. We learn our patterns, speed drills, techniques, close range the right way, then go practice them and get comfortable with them. So, then we test and find the same errors as on our last test, even with new material. And it doesn't have to be that way. We can do a few things to change: We can videotape ourselves, or let someone else do it…then dissect the film to find strengths and weaknesses. We can employ "Slow Practice" to emphasize parts of a technique, building to a larger application. We can value a "watchful eye", such as offered by our Chief Instructors, Assistant Instructors, or top line students. We can hook up a camera to a computer and have live feedback. Truly, there are any number of ways we can get better at our art. But it begins with the DESIRE to break away from the comfort zone trap. Then it takes the willingness to allow oneself to feel the discomfort of change, in order to feel the triumph of victory. When performed correctly, CKD flows in beautiful sequences, violent, yet artful, smooth, yet lethal. In the hands of a true practitioner, it is much like a fine painting, with cascading strokes blending together to form a masterpiece of human development. Please understand, focus on making each technique better and do not be completely satisfied at anytime. Leave, say, 5-10% out for dissatisfaction. Learn to be mindful when approaching the comfort zone in CKD, then reach out for help and improve. By practicing this type of thinking in the Do-Jang, it is naturally going to spill over into other aspects of your life. By weeding out comfort zone items that hold us back, we eventually begin to develop into those people that our inner most hearts desire to become. To look into the mirror and see what you've always wanted to see is a priceless gift few of us ever get the privilege of experiencing. To those mindful of the comfort zone, it is simply an attainable goal. Sabumnim Michael C. Mortell Chief Instructor, Twin Cities Choi Kwang Do
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