While comfort and security are worthy goals and an import aspect to life – pursuing them as your main goals comes at the expense of growth. The illusion of comfort and security hamper positive change. Growth and change are not comfortable. They are also important, necessary parts of life. Pursuing comfort and security as end goals, in an effort to eliminate risk and discomfort, comes at the expense of growing and changing.

Coming from a job that I held for almost 17 years, I can tell you that I hung onto that job for as long as I did for security and comfort. I knew the job well. I knew what my expectations were, and I was able to do it well. Loved ones around me watched my wellness decline, and even mentioned it to me many times over the years. I didn’t pay attention to the cues though, because I was so focused on comfort. That was my goal. I can tell you that the illusion of comfort and security caused me to make decisions that stunted my growth. I wasn’t challenged in new ways, I wasn’t accepting challenges, I didn’t even expect challenges. I was even told that there was no room for growth in my position. I still remained there; all for the illusion of comfort and security.

I began to look around though and those I was seeing “suffer” for security. I watched their health decline, watched their happiness diminish, their thirst for life fade; all for the hope that they would be able to retire. Oh but once they retired, then they’d live! The problem was that the people I was watching were in either so bad shape that once they retired, they were unable to do the things they wanted, or they literally passed away shortly after their retirement. Retirement – the illusion of comfort and security – were literally injuring and killing people around me.

That’s when I decided enough was enough. I had to make the change, and I did. I’m also healthier and happier in the past few months than I’ve been over the past few years. Loved ones around me have mentioned to me how much better I am now. New opportunities for growth and new challenges have blossomed around me. Or, maybe they were always there, I just didn’t notice them before, with my blinders of comfort and security firmly attached.

In a sense, comfort and security are worthy goals. They allow us to care for, and assist loved ones in our lives. We need a sense of security. A state of constant turmoil is no better than a state of stagnancy. I know no better comfort than having security that my family loves me, and that I love them. There are instances and times that comfort and security are essential. Even in our personal lives, we have to seek growth – we have to find that balance between comfort and security; and balance it against growth, change, and success. It’s the over-valuing of comfort and security that causes problems.

Comfort and security are sold to us as ultimate end goals. When we buy into them, it helps assure that we’re more passive, trepidatious, and even fearful. Fearful that we’ll lose the comfort that we have. The illusion of comfort and security can be a way to control. I’ve seen it be used. I had a supervisor tell me, “You’re lucky to have this job. You choose to cash the paycheck and have a retirement, so you keep it. If you don’t want to do what’s expected, then don’t cash the paycheck.” Using fear of losing comfort and security is a means of control. Once we break free of that, we see the other side.

Leadership is uncomfortable by nature, and it’s certainly not an endeavor that breeds security. The good leaders that I know constantly feel like they’re on the verge of failure. It’s because they’re not seeking security, they’re seeking true, humble leadership. This often means being on the edge, being out front. This isn’t a comfortable place to be.  Leadership requires that a person is willing to accept that there will be times of discomfort. Working and living with comfort and security as goals will inherently keep you from true leadership, as it will affect your decision making, and hamper growth.

Growth requires overcoming challenges. If we’re seeking comfort and security, then we’re actively staying away from challenges, thereby hampering our own growth. When we value comfort and security over change to avoid challenges, we’re affecting our ability to grow.

When we start to leave the illusion of comfort and security, we will start to encounter challenges that we have not encountered previously. This requires a new effort. It may require renewed, or even new faith. It will require new knowledge. These are all opportunities for growth.

So the questions I’ve asked myself, and I’ll ask here now are… Will we leave the task of positive change to someone else? Will we leave growth to others? Will we assume growth and change should be shouldered by others? Will we value the illusion of comfort and security to the extent that we leave opportunities to others?

Or – will we seek growth? Will we act on faith? Will we put forth the effort needed to grow and change – to find success? Will we lead the change? Will we be the change? Will we lead?

When we over-value the illusion of comfort and security, we let it stand in the way of our own person growth and the growth of those around us. We let it stand in the way of leadership, change, and success.