Sometimes It’s Okay to Be Comfortable

 There is a thought in modern self-help that you always need to force yourself out of your comfort zone in order to achieve your dreams. That no truly amazing feat can be accomplished without getting uncomfortable. And I have always prescribed to this idea. Especially when it comes to my writing. 

For the last few years, I have been trying to push myself to write the stories I want to write. To not limit my ideas by what I think I can write, or to stay within the safe borders of what has always been the romance genre. The self-publishing landscape has opened up so many different stories I would have never guessed would be so popular or amazing, and I see no reason the same couldn’t be true for the stories I want to tell.

And I think actively trying to ignore the negative voices in my head has been very good for me. And my writing. I have grown as an author. I’ve developed my voice even more acutely. And I have created some stories and characters I lover, that I never would have without pushing myself in this way. 

But there are some negatives to pushing yourself out of your comfort zone as well. The biggest being it takes work—hard work—to be so uncomfortable and stay determined. It can be downright grueling and very time consuming to keep going even when things are uncomfortable. And while I am getting close to completing some of these new stories, it is often hard to put in the time and dedication it takes to push yourself in these ways.

When Nanowrimo started this last year, I intended to continue pushing myself and my writing throughout the contest. To keep going with these harder stories, and maybe even get one a little closer to completion. But the words just would not come. I was having a really difficult time connecting to the stories and characters in such a pressurized timeframe.

Out of desperation towards the end of the month, I decided to take a stab at an older story I haven’t played with in years (one of my goals for Nanowrimo this year was to only work on stories I had already started, instead of adding even more started but not completed projects to my huge backlog). This story was light, fun, sexy, and very much like the stories I wrote at the beginning of my career. And surprisingly, the second I settled back in this world, the words just flew from my fingers. It was almost like magic. Before I knew it, I’d written over twenty thousand words in less than a week (numbers far bigger than I had done in years).

Maybe the speed at which I could write this story was because of all the work I’ve been doing over the last few years. Maybe it is because this story had been brewing in the back of my mind of so long, it was already formed and ready to come out. But whatever the reason, it felt great. Fun, and freeing and a little like coming home. It was a wonderful reminder that sometimes it’s okay to be comfortable. It’s okay to not push yourself all the time. Sometimes it’s okay to take that break, spend that day on the couch, reread that book you love and have read a dozen times instead of starting a new one, or working on that project that is comfortable and enjoyable.

And while I will be going back to my other stories, and continuing to push myself to try things with my writing I haven’t done before, it was nice to have a break. And remember the fun and the joy that my old comforts gave me. After all, writing might not always be easy, there is always enjoyment and excitement to be had in all stages of the process.

So if you are looking for permission to embrace the comfortable today, to relax a bit and not spend every moment pushing yourself to achieve that next lofty goal, you’ve got it. Those lofty ambitions will be there tomorrow. Take today for you.