Is it really all about comfort?

For years I have been pondering the question, "What does it take to move people to action in light of the significant needs of others?"

Is it really all about comfort and the avoidance of pain and suffering?
It is comfortable:
- to keep busy enough to have no time to reflect or consider the plight of others
- to live in my own little world, safe from the pain of others
- to attend to my needs (i.e. comfort) and with any extra time to my family
- to avoid exposure to those suffering
- to not try to relate to and understand others lacking comfort
- to convince myself that it is too hard to help others
- to think that the significant needs of others are so overwhelming
- to pretend that there is nothing I can do that could possibly make a difference
- to just not care about others and their sufferings