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A comfort zone, as the internet will tell you, is a mental state where you feel at ease because you’re among familiar surroundings, you’re doing things that you’re accustomed to, there’s nothing to make you feel stressed or anxious. Typically, when we talk about comfort zones, we talk about pushing ourselves or being pushed out of our comfort zones. Think about it–that's pretty unpleasant. It's always upsetting to be pushed out of your comfort zone into whatever exists outside of your comfort zone–the general discomfort of life outside of your comfort zone. So, it makes perfect sense why people would be reluctant to leave. When I close my eyes and try to imagine what my comfort zone looks like, I picture a circle that encompasses everything I'm "cool" with. Every situation that I feel comfortable in, every person I feel comfortable with, every place I'm comfortable visiting, every act I'm comfortable, every act I am okay with doing, and this is my zone. It can expand slowly over time, it can absorb new things–it tends not to, but it can–it'll grow out and spread like suburban sprawl,or something. And, the more I’ve thought about this, the more I realize it is a really unproductive way to imagine one's comfort zone. I'm trying to see it now less as this zone–this circle that moves with me that is like a protective bubble defining who I am and what I am okay with–and more like a literal place that exists in the world where I can come and go as I please. Comfort zones, at least when it comes to cooking, are like surf breaks. As a surfer, you usually have a home break – the beach you surf most often where you understand everything, all the ins and outs of this beach: where the swell typically comes in, which direction it comes from, which winds make for the ideal conditions, where the best place to get in the water, is how to paddle out. But, the first time you surf any other unfamiliar break – in a different country, a different ocean, a different hemisphere – it can be hugely intimidating. You’re not sure about anything. You're not sure about how the locals are going to react, if they're going to look at you sideways in the water. You imagine, of course, that they're glaring at you the whole time, just waiting to slash your tires in the parking lot. You don't know what's underneath the surface of the water. You don't know where the reef is, where the sandbar is, how the waves are going to break. You don’t know the best way to get into the water, and, if you're like me, and you suck at surfing to begin with, all of this is enough to make you pack it all up. Just throw the board back on the roof, go find a coffee shop and sit there for hours, drive back home and tell your wife that you went surfing. But, the waves look really good. And, all of your friends have told you that this break is amazing. And you work up the courage and you get in the water, find a channel, and paddle your way into the line-up. And, you realize that water is just water. You’re gonna float just like you float at home. After you watch a couple of waves break and paddle to your first one, you realize the mechanics are all the same, too. You paddle, you pop up, you turn – it all works the same way. And, just like that, you've left your comfort zone and you're surfing in someone else's.