Re: [Paddlewise] The "Comfort" Zone (or: Telling Paddling Partners Forcefully About PFD's)

Dave Kruger wrote:
> What's with this business of using "I am not comfortable with that" as 
> a reason or rationale for not doing something?  What does comfort have 
> to do with it?  Are we supposed to be "comfortable" all the time?  
> Should we avoid those experiences which are outside our "comfort zone" 
> forever?
I would consider that a personal choice. I personally love comfort; 
that's why I paddle a comfortable boat, enjoy mild seas, and plan my 
vacations to have nice weather. Others like discomfort: They paddle 
storm seas or try to climb Mt Everest. You won't find me anywhere near 
such environments.
>
> So, when someone says, "I want you to wear a PFD because I'm 
> uncomfortable if you don't" I want to gag.  Tell it like it is:  "If 
> you don't wear the bloody PFD it makes it a lot tougher for me to drag 
> your ass back into/onto the boat."  Or, "that PFD will make it ever so 
> much easier to find your body and smooth the collection of your life 
> insurance."
On this, I agree wholeheartedly. I hate it when people wrap up their 
statements in political correctness, up to the point where the statement 
is lost completely. Yes, tell it like it is!

I once had a student with a neurological problem: He tended to "switch 
off" every once in a while, for a few seconds or a minute. It tended to 
happen when he had an overload of information. Since capsizing was such 
an overload, rescuing him was a bit of a problem. I talked to him about 
this, and he said that "it was his risk to take". While I agree with 
that, he would ruin my day by drowning in my class, which is _my_ risk 
to take.  (We agreed on some extra safety measures and resolved the 
problem to our mutual satisfaction.)

We all have our personal desires. Often we have to balance our own 
desires with those of others. In that aspect, it's reasonable to ask 
others to respect your comfort, if comfort is what you desire - but be 
prepared to compromise some of your desires for the desires of others. 
If an compromise can not be reached, you shouldn't paddle together. 
There's about a dozen people in my own club that I do not want to paddle 
with, for exactly that reason.
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