COURTESY OF ARANTZA GARCIA
Mulani highlights that stepping out of her comfort zone was integral to achieving personal growth.
COURTESY OF ARANTZA GARCIA
Mulani highlights that stepping out of her comfort zone was integral to achieving personal growth.
I was around ten when I first heard the phrase “comfort zone.” It was uttered by my favorite YouTuber at the time in her Monthly Favorites video, and I decided that I wanted to build up my comfort zone — now, at 21, I think I’ve done too good of a job.
While I don’t regret making my comfort zone so comfortable — it was necessary for my quiet, shy kid-self — I do know that it’s hindered growth. Though I’ve not let concerns around comfort make the big decisions for me — moving across the world to go to university, being one of them — I do occasionally let it guide the small decisions. From awkward conversations to trudging in the snow, I ask myself, “How can I spend the least amount of time here?”
It’s only recently that I’ve been able to pinpoint that the moments where I’ve been challenged, questioned and dealt with difficulty have been the moments in which I have actively grown. It doesn’t feel like it in the moment; it often feels scary and, you guessed it, uncomfortable, but with each scary and uncomfortable moment, you’re a little closer to the eventual non-intimidating, comfortable moments.
I really, truly, struggled with public speaking when I was younger — or public anything, rather. Sometimes I think back to how small I felt, at how much my voice wobbled and my hands trembled, and I wonder why my teachers and parents put me in those situations. But now I’m a senior who spent her junior year leading weekly general meetings at The News-Letter as Co-Editor in Chief, definitely pissing off my coworkers with how much I rambled on about communication, communication, communication!
It took practice. Everyone says it, but it’s true. And practice isn’t linear. I think of growth, such as building a skill like public speaking, as the rungs of a ladder — except not each rung is evenly spaced. Though with every try, you move up one rung, the first five, ten or even 20 rungs will be really close together; in these first tries, it won’t feel like you’re making much progress. But, as you continue to ascend, each successive rung becomes a little further away and the next one even more — you’re starting to make progress. By the 100th rung, once you’ve climbed even the most uncomfortable, seemingly out-of-reach rung, you’ll realize how far you’ve come.
By my final time leading our general meeting, I realized how far I’d come — not just from my very first meeting, but also from where I was as a child. The little girl scared to sing a bhajan in front of her friends and teachers had evolved into a woman who could confidently address a roomful of her peers at a top US university.
But, this article isn’t about public speaking. It’s about the fact that every time I was forced to speak up as a child, I hated it. It’s about the fact that I did it anyway and the fact that I grew from it — little, tiny bits of growth, but growth nonetheless. It’s about learning that stepping outside of your comfort zone may challenge you, question you and make life just a little more difficult but that’s the only place you’ll find growth.
So, as uncomfortable as it is being uncomfortable, it’s time that I get comfortable with it.
Instead of letting the books I order for collection at the MSE Annex stack up, I’ve started walking over for individual books, one at a time. To others this may not seem like a lot, but for me, someone who hates the cold with every fiber of her being and takes every possible precaution to avoid it, this is a big deal, a big step. (And I’m currently writing my senior thesis, so I’ve just committed myself to quite a few trips here.)
I’m also promising myself that I’ll work harder at responding to the text messages that I want to avoid. And when my head gets scrambled because my room is too messy (because I truly am a reflection of my surroundings), I remember that the momentary discomfort of cleaning is worth the eventual comfort of cleanliness.
Like I said, it’s the little things that I’ve let comfort take the lead on. But now, I’m choosing discomfort, on purpose. I’m choosing growth.
Yana Mulani is a senior from Dubai, U.A.E. majoring in Economics, English and International Studies. She is a Magazine Editor and a previous Editor-in-Chief for The News-Letter.