Comfort is the enemy of progress

The Gorriti bike lane had little ups and downs. On the uphill blocks the pedaling got more intense, in winter the cold air rushing in with my mouth open was perfect for cooling down a body that overheated within a hundred meters on the flat stretch. Then it would ease up, and I'd shift into "motorcycle mode," coasting for several blocks without pedaling. The most enjoyable part. Years of biking to work. I'd arrive with a clear head, energized, running at double speed until I settled down and my body cooled off. With that initial rush of dopamine*, the days promised better moods.

The steady flame.

During my years at that particular office, every day was the same, and my daily relief had to do with how close it was to my house, the wind on my face along the way, and the comfort of not spending much time getting from one point to the other, it wasn't far, it didn't require public transport, and just as important: my job meant working without big deadlines and with plenty of moments of fun with my coworkers, we goofed around a lot.

Aside from knowing I was comfortable, and that a job change would mean more commitment and a change of location, there was something I didn't see for a long time: the years were passing and I wasn't growing professionally. Partly from not wanting to leave my comfort zone, partly because I had no real need to. That job didn't ask for my extra mile, it gave me the stability I needed to fit in generous daily doses of goofing off and enough slack to get home without worries or a constant feeling of things left pending. Watch out: I had no worries, but I wasn't going anywhere either, I was just complying and existing.

The preference for keeping things the way they are, even when change would lead to a better outcome, just because change takes effort and the default feels safer, is nothing but status quo bias. Falling into this quicksand of the mind is a deadly trap for your creativity and your progress. This kind of comfort you build up for yourself is a lot like trying to get out of bed while hugging a hot water bottle.

Comfort is the enemy of progress. It's not so crazy to think autopilot wins. The human brain weighs the cost of moving away from comfort more heavily than the benefit of a better job, life, or plan. Samuelson and Zeckhauser proved this in a foundational study from nineteen eighty eight: faced with any decision, we tend to disproportionately prefer staying where we already are, even when change would serve us better. And there's something deeper going on too: stepping out of autopilot every once in a while, even in small things, seems to be what keeps the mind sharp and willing to keep learning. Staying put, on the other hand, leaves it running on low power.

One day, I was offered two paths in the same conversation. One was staying at the level I already had, changing location but not the demands, the same comfort with a different name on the door. The other was a leadership position I hadn't asked for and that scared me just to hear about it. I said yes to the one that scared me.

When you catch the moment you turn the tap on, and go from pilot flame to full blaze, that's when comfort stopped being enough, and the arrival of something stronger is what you want, even if you don't fully know why yet.

Looking back, if I go with the glass half empty, I'd say: I lost more than a decade. If I look at it with the glass half full, I'd say: I finally got it. I was taking action without passion, but I just switched on. I want more passion.

And it wasn't just anything happening: making occasional changes breaks the brain's automatisms and forces it out of autopilot. For me, that change of scenery left my head sharp, ready to keep going.

J.

*Dopamine is a key neurotransmitter in the central nervous system that acts as a chemical messenger.