Typically, young people think of the boomer generation’s (people born around 1946-1964) opinions as outdated. Yet, sometimes, they secretly find themselvesagreeingwith some. Or, maybe not so secretly, as they post about it on social media.
Today, we are talking about one of these cases, which caused quite a discussion on X, even though, technically, it’s just another debate about the comfort zone.
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Even though sometimes the boomer generation’s opinions tend to be outdated, from time to time, we can find some that are valid
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On March 19th, 2024, writer@katefeetietweeted her “boomer-est” opinion: that people must force themselves to do things that are uncomfortable while they’re young and their brain is flexible, even if they’rementally ill, as pushing themselves to do them might make them less uncomfortable after several tries. Basically, it’s about an old tale of “stepping out of the comfort zone.” The tweet quickly went pretty viral, as X users found it quite polarizing.
Some people completely agreed with the sentiment. In fact, some of them said that this kind of thought, or, to be more precise, the act of pushing themselves to do something uncomfortable, forced them to heal theirsocial anxietyor forced their brain to function with their ADHD.
In fact, the act of leaving your comfort zone has quite a fewbenefits– it helps people achieve their goals, boosts self-confidence, and expands their worldview, to name a few.
Others were a little bit more extreme. They said that such a take isableist—discriminatory against people with disabilities. After all, sometimes, people have such debilitating mental conditions that they restrict people from doing certain things, including pushing their boundaries, even if they want to. If they try to push themselves to do something very difficult for them, it can lead to a panic attack or any other bad physical reaction, like vertigo.
Image credits:Gül Işık (not the actual photo)
So, you might wonder, which side is right? To help you make up your mind,Bored Pandareached out to transformational life coachAmy Lee(if you’re anewsletterfan, she has one that focuses on her personal stories and healing journey).
To understand whether pushing yourself to do something very uncomfortable and difficult is worth it, Amy advises you to think about what this push will bring you long-term. She also gave a perfect example: “I am terrified of public speaking, but I know my calling is to speak, so will taking occasional opportunities lead to sustainable growth and longevity? Yes! While there will most likely be a shock to my nervous system, eventually, with time, practicing public speaking will help to minimize that.”
When the reasoning is understood, the reprogramming of the subconscious mind follows. This step involves affirmations, trauma work (talk therapy), scripting, visualizing, andsomatic work(a therapy where the body is the main point for healing). Amy provides an example of the latter: “Perhaps you were booed on stage as a little kid — that trauma may reside in your stomach (constant nausea around the fear of being seen).”
Amy also highlighted that there are things that terrify people that they don’t have a calling for, which makes these things kind of purposeless.
The tweet sparked a debate, where some folks agreed with it, while others disagreed and even called it ableist
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