Seeking Discomfort

I often think that the human experience is oppressed by false and debilitating claims created to scare one out of expanding outside of their comfort zone.  “Don’t talk to strangers”, “That career goal is unrealistic”, “You should not travel. The world outside of your own is dangerous” etc.  Uncertainty scares the hell out of us as human beings.  We tend to navigate the world and society under our own terms of what we believe to be safe, not only from a survival standpoint, but from a “saving-face” standpoint.  We do not dare approach the person we have a crush on, for fear of rejection.  We put off traveling to a country we have always wanted to see, due to the fear of culture shock and, ultimately, uncertainty. I am not saying to put your trust in every person and every risky opportunity you come across.  But, as the common phrase goes: “Live a little.”  Because without risk, you stay stuck. Rejection is not so scary when you experience it and go in, and come out with the mind-set of “I would have never known if I did not try.”   The same goes for taking that long awaited trip you have been pushing off; do not let fear of uncertainty stop you.  

This being said, in the last couple months I have been following this group of three young men who step out of their comfort zone for a living.  Their group is called Yes Theory and they live by the phrase “seek discomfort.”  They believe that by saying yes to the experiences that bring you fear and discomfort, ultimately allows for the best and most memorable experiences.  I would not categorize them as stereotypical journalists, but as journalists of the human experience.  Their visual storytelling is inspiring and visually compelling.  Their camera work always captures their face-to-face interactions with the strangers they converse with incredibly well and it allows the viewer to experience how raw and real these interactions are.  They have also mastered the audio portion of videography and post-production.  Not only does the background music line up with the tone of each video, but, they deliver well-scripted voice-overs to tie their videos together in the end.

The Yes Theory video I have decided to highlight is one called “16 Strangers in a Mansion Overnight.”  The Yes Theory guys are on a mission to find backpackers who seek discomfort, and bring them together in a setting that is meant for comfort.  This visual story ultimately portrays the message that it does not matter where you come from, everyone, universally, desires human connection.  In the case of this video in particular, strangers just so happen to be friends they had not met yet.  

When you go out of your way to meet new people or delve into new experiences, you open yourself up to pain, love, rejection, relationships, newfound knowledge and awareness, and life.

 And through all of that, comes growth within your own personal human experience.