Don’t Let the Desire for Comfort Extinguish the Fire of Curiosity
By: Colton Tanner Casados-Medve
Tags: Growth, Personal Development, Life, Self, Advice

Have you ever asked yourself why so few people venture forth to start their own business or make a living from a blog, podcast, or YouTube channel?

Without a doubt, a majority of people are content to filter into someone else’s “system” rather than create their own.

Those who do try to succeed independently — either for themselves or to create opportunities for others — are few and far between, and they easily stand out from the rest of the crowd.

The answer to this puzzle is simple: ditching the comfortable path to try and forge one’s own — creatively speaking — is a terrifying endeavor.

If this blog fails, for instance, who else can I blame other than myself?

Very few people are willing to bear the burden of that responsibility, so instead, they settle for a more comfortable — albeit less exciting — career path.

One which is largely defined by people exterior to themselves.

I’m not here to knock those individuals.

I get it.

We get one life to live, and so whether the risks involved in the creative life are worth it should be something we thoroughly contemplate before making the leap.

Furthermore, the desire to seek comfort and stability, to carve out a little nook to call home is a part of human (as well as non-human) nature.

It’s ultimately what I’m still doing, even though I want to go about doing it in my own, unique way.

We often forget that nature is an energetically conservative process — it never expends more energy than it needs to for any given process.

But we also have a perfectly natural desire to depart the safety of the village compound, to explore, to encounter novelty, to take risks, and to live a life of creative fulfillment.

Each of us is born with two contradictory sets of instructions: a conservative tendency, made up of instincts for self-preservation, self-aggrandizement, and saving energy, and an expansive tendency made up of instincts for exploring, for enjoying novelty and risk — the curiosity that leads to creativity belongs to this set. — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

It would be a mistake to suggest that we could purge ourselves completely of either of these tendencies.

Even the most “conservative” individuals may have creative hobbies that they consistently develop throughout their lives, and even the boldest “creatives” may eventually reach a point where they feel content, slow down, and settle into a more routine flow.

The goal is not to see these two tendencies as opposed to each other, but merely to understand how, when creativity is not actively cultivated, the conservative tendency wins out, wilting our curiosity.

The trick is learning how to push beyond our comfort zone, little by little, even though — on a fundamental level — we’re still human beings that desire comfort and security.

We need both of these programs. But whereas the first tendency requires little encouragement or support from outside to motivate behavior, the second can wilt if not cultivated. If too few opportunities for curiosity are available, if too many obstacles are placed in the way of risk and exploration, the motivation to engage in creative behavior is easily extinguished. — Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi

So how, then, do we cultivate creativity?

Just what sort of risks do we need to take, and how do we take them?

Well, Mihaly and numerous other creative individuals have always emphasized the extreme importance of curiosity, of having a burning desire to learn more than we currently know.

That’s the first risk we all have to take — to learn.

Maybe that doesn’t sound like a risk to you, but it should, because so many people sell themselves short on their capabilities.

They accept the image of themselves that they acquired growing up — whether that means they feel like they were smart or dumb or what have you.

The idea that they may never be able to get better at a skill is terrifying, so they never even try.

They lost touch with their innate sense of curiosity, the kind that makes someone want to pick up an instrument and start learning, or try any of the other innumerable skillful activities that require patience, dedication, and a willingness to fail in order to master.

Writing is one such skill.

Most people probably think, “I could never succeed as a writer or blogger. I don’t have enough ideas, I’m not too great at expressing myself, and I’m a boring person who lives an uninteresting life.”

But how much have those people honestly made the attempt?

Have they spent hours, days, weeks, or months consistently writing so as to “strengthen” their writing “muscle?”

If not, then they haven’t really taken the risk.

The result is that their propensity for creativity has wilted. They don’t provide themselves with opportunities to develop it — such as writing every day.

But their curiosity and creative impulse aren’t completely dead.

We can always begin watering our creative seeds so as to see what they grow into in the future.

As long as we are willing to accept the risks — such as failure, awkwardness, looking like a fool, being ridiculed by strangers who know about us on the internet, etc. — then we can begin to open ourselves back up to our more exploratory side, rather than the side that only seeks comfort.

This will lead us to discover our own balance in life — toward the more conservative, comfort-seeking end, or toward the more risk-taking, exploratory one.

At the end of it all, we may end up deciding that an independent life really isn’t for us, instead choosing to work for a company.

There’s nothing wrong with that. I think that no matter what happens, most people will always seek a profession that allows them to work closely with others rather than purely on their own.

Being a solo writer is a bit on the extreme end of jobs that could be described as “Great for Introverts” in that regard.

Just remember to never become too comfortable, or too closed off to your own potential.

It’s always possible to get lost in the adventure of our own lives, never looking back, and never having any regrets.

Make curiosity your king — or queen — and see where it takes you.