Comments on: Comfort is Fear in Disguise

By: wendy

wendy — Sun, 30 Jul 2017 00:26:41 +0000

I have actually packed up, moved cross country and lived out of (two) suitcases several times for new jobs.
All the other ‘stuff’ was packed up and stored for a month or so… and once even for six months. You REALLY figure out how little is needed to go about your day when all your stuff is packed away where you can’t get to it.
It is scary and freeing and exhilarating all at once!

Even knowing that, unfortunately I’ve let ‘stuff’ creep back into my life and I’m trying to declutter/purge again….when you have daydreams about how streamlined/low maintenance/peaceful your life would be if all your stuff fell into a sinkhole or collapsed in an earthquake (not to make light of that for when it does happen to people) you know you need to downsize the extraneous.

I’ve also found that if you change your mindset from ‘fear of the unknown’ to excitement, it’s a lot easier and more fun. It’s also easier with practice…having now relocated multiple times, through multiple states, for new jobs – not knowing anyone or the area – I actually look forward to the thrill of the unknown.

By: TheHappyPhilosopher

TheHappyPhilosopher — Fri, 08 Jul 2016 13:08:30 +0000

In reply to Mrs. PIE. I think that is a key point, it takes energy to break out from comfort and sometimes we just don't have it. We have to train ourselves to be a little uncomfortable.

By: Mrs. PIE

Mrs. PIE — Mon, 20 Jun 2016 01:19:53 +0000

Very nicely written. This rings very true for me. I KNOW that I favor comfort of the known over the discomfort of the unknown. It really is just discomfort, something that takes a bit of effort that sometimes I just don’t have the energy for.

By: The Friday Feast ~ the 17th of June - ThinkSaveRetire.com

The Friday Feast ~ the 17th of June - ThinkSaveRetire.com — Fri, 17 Jun 2016 10:01:02 +0000

[…] favorite post this week comes from The Happy Philosopher who writes that comfort is nothing more than fear in disguise. That’s […]

By: TheHappyPhilosopher

TheHappyPhilosopher — Thu, 16 Jun 2016 04:07:23 +0000

In reply to Keith Schroeder. Thank you Keith. Well said.

By: Keith Schroeder

Keith Schroeder — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 15:57:12 +0000

I love the Pascal quote. You really hit the nail square on this post. Fear destroys so much happiness in life and comfort is the delusion we use to convince ourselves otherwise.

By: TheHappyPhilosopher

TheHappyPhilosopher — Mon, 13 Jun 2016 03:40:44 +0000

In reply to The Personal Economist. I agree, fear can manifest itself in so many ways. What surprised me was how subversive and hidden it can be at times. It's easier to deal with when it's out in the open and we can wrap our arms around it. When it hides behind other emotions and mental states it's much more difficult.

By: The Personal Economist

The Personal Economist — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 20:29:19 +0000

Oh this so resonated with me, especially ‘We cover up fear with comfort. Comfort is fear in disguise’
In the scarcity mindset, there is a fear of missing out, fear of being uncomfortable but in the abundance mindset a different type of fear can be motivating: fear of not being able to live the life you want, fear of being controlled by someone/something else.
I’m trying to let the abundance mindset dominate, thanks for the reminder.

By: TheHappyPhilosopher

TheHappyPhilosopher — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 17:48:05 +0000

In reply to Joe (arebelspy). Haha, I can see that. I think it is very dependent on personality and mindset. Fear largely melts away in people with a strong abundance mindset (at least in some ways).

By: TheHappyPhilosopher

TheHappyPhilosopher — Sun, 12 Jun 2016 17:41:02 +0000

In reply to Clearwing. Great observations. Discomfort or pain is probably the best motivator because we do anything to avoid it. It produces the big shifts. When we get comfortable I see it as more of a holding pattern. When I wrote this I realized that and saw it in myself. We can be fearful to act because we remember the discomfort and don't want to return to it...so we do nothing. Comfort can be a prison, albeit a very comfortable one :)