Defying the Comfort Zone
And when it gets tough, we like to play it safe.
We then proceed to draw up the boundaries on our comfort zones.
After we’ve had bad experiences in life it is only natural for us as human beings to do everything in our power to avoid encountering similar problems in the future. We can’t really control it, it’s evolutionary. It is how we’ve learned to survive throughout the ages.
But what happens when we stay in a continuously cautious mind frame and we’ve created a comfort zone and we’re uncomfortable or afraid of stepping out on faith and trying new things in an attempt to divert failures, difficulty, and hardships?
How do we embrace the unknown and defy our comfort zones?
I say that the need to expand ourselves and to learn and to grow must be bigger than our fears of what could go wrong because we must understand that our growth also contributes to our survival. One cannot grow within enclosed boundaries whether they are boundaries set in place physically or those set into place by our own thinking.
The truth is that we cannot always do what is comfortable for us in life if we want to reach new levels. Neither can we permit ourselves to become comfortable in stagnant relationships with others who aren’t willing to grow and who hinder us with various forms of negativity simply for trying to expand ourselves.
Personally, I do strive to make good sound life decisions and I make it a point to keep myself out of harm’s way if something seems too risky. Still, I also strive to operate with the mindset that some risk can be good, and that stepping out on faith is sometimes necessary. I never want to regret the chances I didn’t take and the opportunities that I might miss as a result.
There are many of us who have gotten to a certain age in life and we say things like, “If I could go back and do it all again I would (insert life dream here)”. We may sometimes think on those missed opportunities with disappointment. But I say that we can either wallow in self-pity or we can learn from those situations and be willing to go for the gusto the next time around.
We have all felt the disappointment of missed opportunity at one time or another in our lives. However, as we grow older, we owe it to ourselves and to others who look up to us as examples to be willing to grow and to try for the things that we truly desire in life even if we face the possibility of failure and even when we might not be comfortable doing so.
Don’t regret the chance you didn’t take and the missed opportunities because you are bound by your comfort zone.
Take a chance.
Be willing to grow.
Don’t get comfortable.
Defy your comfort zone and do something life changing!
A. L. Hearn