How Comfortable Are You?

I hope you are sitting comfortably because today's article is about being comfortable. We all like to be physically and mentally comfortable and to be with family or friends and to have everything around us that we are familiar with. This makes us feel secure and at ease and generally gives us the feeling of wellbeing and contentment.

It is a natural human instinct to seek comfort and security. In fact, this is the next level of human needs after basic physiological needs such as eating, breathing and sleeping etc. Once these most basic of human needs are fulfilled the next level of needs that we automatically seek to satisfy are security needs. This includes feeling physically safe and healthy, and having financial security and employment.

The next level of human needs relate to belonging, being accepted and loved. These needs are generally met by partners, family, friends, and in the broader sense, by belonging to clubs, teams, religious organisations etc.

After belonging and acceptance, most people need respect, both from others and from themselves. This is often obtained by taking part in some type of activity or activities that allow us to feel we are doing something of value and making some sort of contribution.

The final and highest level of human needs relate to the need for growth and development - the need to find self-fulfilment and realize one's potential, make the most of their unique abilities and to strive to be the best they can.

You may be thinking this sounds a bit too technical and scientific, and if so there's good reason. I didn't just come up with these different levels of needs. This is based on extensive research carried out by the highly respected psychologist Abraham Maslow first published in the 1940's, which he continued to work on and adapt until his death in 1970.

Maslow recognised there would be exceptions to his theory due to personality types or other reasons, and there have also been detractors and alternate theories developed since. However, Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs is still considered to be one of the most important and influential works ever developed to explain and understand human motivation and behaviour.

If you'd like to learn more about Maslow and his work click here:

http://www.ship.edu/~cgboeree/maslow.html

There are many observations and conclusions we can draw from this. The most obvious is that the lowest level of needs will always be the ones we need to satisfy first. If we don't have the basics like food and shelter, we are unlikely to be thinking about any other needs further up the scale.

Maslow's research found that all levels of human need, with one exception (more on this below) follow the principal of homeostasis. This is just a big word that simply means for most human needs, when the need is filled, the need stops. When we are hungry, for example, the hunger stops when we eat.
However, there's another need that many people can't get enough of that can help to explain why many people don't go on to become all they could be and achieve the kind of success they'd like to. This relates to security. Closely related to security is comfort, and when people become too secure and too comfortable it can actually stop them from trying to achieve more.

We've all heard about Comfort Zones. Comfort zones can relate to any environment or condition we become accustomed to. In can relate to various important aspects of our lives including our homes, our work, and the people we socialise with. They don't even have to be that 'comfortable' as such, it's more what we are familiar with. Comfort zones are like mental boundaries we subconsciously set ourselves. They cause us, for example, to stick with a job or stay in a relationship we aren't happy with because of the security it offers and because we're scared of the risk involved in trying something unfamiliar.

Many people have goals and dreams and things they want to achieve in their lives. Taking action to turn these into reality will involve risk and uncertainty. Anyone that is too comfortable is unlikely to be prepared to move into an area of uncertainty and risk which means their goals and dreams will very often remain unfulfilled.

This also means that many people never really move into the highest level of needs on Maslow's hierarchy, the level he described as 'growth motivation, being needs and self-actualisation.'

These are the needs referred to above that do not involve homeostasis. These needs don't stop when they are fulfilled. In fact, it's just the opposite. These are needs that actually become stronger the more we feed them. These are also the needs that bring us the highest levels of fulfilment and satisfaction.
There's no doubt that if we want to achieve our goals and enjoy success and happiness in our lives we have to take risks. It may be difficult, but we simply have to move beyond the familiar and comfortable to make it happen. The great news is that when we get into the flow of motivation and taking action it has a snowball effect so in time it becomes almost like second nature.