Leaving your Comfort Zone

Hi, everyone. It’s Tammy.

Today I’d like to write about leaving our comfort zones, as I feel you are all doing so by working so hard to master English!

“Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.” – Albert Einstein

It might be “insane” to stick with the familiar, especially when the familiar is not particularly working out for us, but we’ve all seen what diving into the unknown can look like. Have you seen those cute videos of babies trying new vegetables for the first time? It looks like they think it’s the end of the world!

It’s no wonder most of us are attached to our comfort zones – their precise function is to keep us comfortable! Within their confines we can rest easy, well within the realm of manageable actions and emotions.

Is there anything so wrong with that?

The truth is that the comfort zone can be a somewhat resistance-free, a little bit like a faded movie. But experiencing the glorious Technicolor range of our full potential might require some hard work, and it may just not feel worth the effort. The comfort zone is always there to nudge us into staying exactly where we are.

However, as long as we are committed to self-growth, we’re bound to encounter some pretty scary places where our comfort zones end and the unknown begins. We don’t have to search very hard; the process might begin, as it does for me, with a pit lodged in the belly, or an encroaching restlessness. But still, an inner voice whispers that it’s time for a change.

To change, I’ve found, we first have to find out what keeps us stuck; what our habits are. We can begin to find them by meditating or journaling (like your FE diaries!) to explore questions like: What am I scared of? What does this fear feel like physically, as sensations in my body? What might life look like on the other side of fear?

I would say that our goals, and our idea of a perfect life lie on the other side of fear!

Being a person who can often live in her head and who used to resist being more physically active, I had a lot of resistance to living a more active lifestyle. Then I discovered yoga, which changed everything!

Yoga is a place where, time and again, it’s possible for me to confront the precipice of where comfort ends and progress begins. If I’m too safe trying to do yoga poses or even breathing exercises, I won’t see any results or feel different. But If I go deeper into a pose than I should and injure myself growth in the way we might have wanted or expected is put on hold. Finding our limits is such a rewarding journey, so that we know we are safe, but making progress at the same time, and moving toward our goals!

There’s this feeling about reaching the “edge” – where we are no longer in our comfort zone but not too far afield, where we meet a voice inside ourselves saying, “you can do it. I will help you get through this”– such a happy feeling! We will always feel some self-doubt, even confusion, but we will also develop stability and strength over time to boldly go in the direction of our dreams.

The journey out from our comfort zone is bound to evolve as we consider the myriad choices we face in life. After all, we can’t leave our comfort zones behind without having clear road-maps of how we want to expand our universe. Otherwise it’s like being a needle in the haystack! But I find that the more excited you get about starting to leave your comfort zone and try new things, the more you will encounter exactly the things you want and need to help you on your journey of growth and self-development. It might come in the form of a new person who has something to teach you, or even something you read in a book or see on TV, something that will spark your inner voice to get excited, and feel, “Yes, I need to try that! It’s what I’ve been looking for!”

So, what are your dreams?

What have you been afraid to do, and will you try to leave your comfort zones for the great, exciting unknown?

Tamara

カメラ片手に世界を旅し、世界を切り取り続けるジャーナリスト。空いた時間に、持ち前のおもてなしの心を持ちながらバリバリ仕事をこなすハードワーカー。