Have you ever thought to yourself, “Gosh, I don’t like this part of myself,” or, “I really wish I could change my X, Y or Z”? Well I hope so, because if you haven’t then you either have no sense of self-reflection, or you are from another planet. No matter who you are or what you have, there is always room for improvement in some aspect of your life, whether it’s through a healthier diet, developing better study habits or expanding your musical abilities.
The purpose of this column is to share tips that I’ve come across which, in my mind, lead to a greater sense of fulfillment and well-being in one’s everyday life. That is to say, tips which will tend to raise one’s fundamental baseline; improve one’s average feeling of contentment experienced on Tuesday afternoons, Sunday mornings and Friday evenings. This feeling of contentment is not rooted in any one particular thing, but rather makes up a strong foundation upon which one can deal with the world more effectively.
Throughout this column, there will be two key concepts that I will return to over and over again, namely “Habituation” and “Stepping Outside of One’s Comfort Zone.”
We are creatures of habit: we get tired and hungry at the same times every day, and tend to have the same kinds of conversations with particular friends. Often when driving, we completely zone out and habit magically brings us to our desired destination, or maybe it takes us in the wrong direction for 10 minutes without our realizing. Once we become accustomed to something, it can be more than difficult to break free of the routine, but it is my aim to show you how any practice can be formed into such an ingrained and difficult-to-break” type of habit, even healthy ones.
I know that stepping outside of one’s comfort zone doesn’t sound like much fun, and indeed, by definition, it must introduce stress to some aspect of our lives. Stress? Isn’t that the very thing that we want to eliminate? Well, not exactly. In truth, we want satisfaction, or a feeling of fulfillment, which comes only through personal growth. Growth is paramount, growth is what we are all searching for at college and in life and only occurs after the introduction of stress. In the same way that body builders must tear themselves apart in order to gain strength, everyone must step outside of their comfort zones if they hope to expand those boundaries.
And now, (drum roll please), the central point to all this talk: when stepping outside of our comfort zones becomes a habit, our potential for growth is, quite literally, limitless. I read in Scientific American that anyone can become an expert, a professional, at anything (chess, golf, poker) in 10 years, so long as they improve themselves everyday. So often, we reach a given skill level and, satisfied with ourselves, give up new learning and stagnate. But if we keep pushing ourselves, keep learning and find a healthy and sustainable degree of stress, we can do anything we want. Period.
Nothing I will suggest is impossible, but you must realize that change does not come overnight. Real and lasting change in one’s life requires a real and lasting effort and a certain degree of mindfulness. By “mindfulness,” I mean the ability to remember one’s desire for growth and the way to achieve it. But the first, and by far the most important, step in changing some aspect of ourselves is earnestly believing that change is possible. Believe in your heart, and the rest will follow.
About the writer:
Keven O’Toole is a junior philosophy major and can be reached at [email protected].
