"When someone tells you to 'get out of your comfort zone,' wait for it. It's highly likely that they're subtly or not-so-subtly nudging you into doing something that they know you don't want to do, but they need done." 

From Start Your Week with Steve, the free weekly e-mail newsletter from Steve Henderson Fine Art, designed to jump start your week with flair.

We really owe seminar speakers a lot: they are the ones who come up with these tiresome platitudes that we battle on a daily basis.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Why are random people so concerned about my comfort zone, and whether or not I'm in it?"

And, "Just where is it that they want me to go?"

In the real world, there is a difference between a rut and a path, the former being a place where dirty water settles and gets your feet all wet, the latter being a directional aid in getting you where you want to go. All too frequently, we muddy the two, helped, no doubt, by people around us who point out that we seem too "comfortable" doing things the way we do, and perhaps we should step off our clear path onto the one they are suggesting.

But there is a reason we feel comfortable doing what we do: it fits us. It makes sense. It's relatively easy because it meshes with the way we think, believe, and process information. It's only when we're afraid, timid, reluctant, huddled in the ditch against the breeze that we're actually in a rut, and generally, we can figure this out without someone pointing it out to us.

Go ahead: do what you do best, and do it in the way that makes sense to you. Challenge yourself, try something new, shake up your routine -- but do it because you want to do it, not because someone scolds you into thinking that you should.

Accepted to the 17th Annual Richard Schmid Fine Art Auction in Fort Collins, CO, September 2, 2012. Online bidding is available through this link -- http://www.richardschmidauction.com/Steve%20Henderson.html

"Frustration isn't always such a bad thing. It's a sign that you're trying something new, different, or outside your level of familiarity, and in working your way through it (and you will) you conquer this challenge and move on to the next one."

-- From Start Your Week with Steve free weekly e-mail newsletter

One of the most satisfying things I do is teaching another person how to knit. And every time I do so, I conclude the lesson with this encouragement:

"You've just learned. While knitting is fairly simple, consisting of basically two stitches -- a knit stitch and a purl stitch -- until you practice, and do it over and over and over, you will not get good.

"And in the process of practicing, and learning how to be good, you will find that you forget some things, or that your knitting looks uneven, or that you drop stitches and you don't know how to get back. And you will get frustrated.

"Not only is this normal, but this is good, and if you're not getting frustrated, then you're probably not pushing yourself beyond your existing skill.

"You are not stupid. You are not unusual. You are not weird. You are normal.

"You are above normal when you accept the challenge, fight it, and win.

"Now -- go and knit."

This same advice applies in anything you do, including and especially including artwork such as painting or sculpture. You won't get better if you don't do it a lot; and if you do it a lot, you can expect to get frustrated.

So, go get frustrated.