The Comfort Zone

Having a comfort zone is a good thing.  We all need to feel safe, at ease and familiar with what is around us.  It is a crucial part of life.  As I visualize it in my mind, my comfort zone is somewhat like Jeannie's lamp on the old sitcom "I Dream of Jeannie." I imagine it as beautiful, with soft couches and cushions, warmth, plenty to eat, and no stress.  Sounds idyllic, right?  And it can be.  But for each of us, it is not a place we can stay indefinitely.  Just like Jeannie, who had to come out of her lamp when called, we cannot stay in our comfort zones indefinitely.  Think of what Jeannie would have missed out on in her life if she had stayed in that bottle indefinitely?  The adventures, the romance, the learning!

The comfort zone is a wonderful place, but there is no growth in the comfort zone.  "Do I need growth" I sometimes ask?  "Why can't I just stay on my soft couches, in my warmth, with plenty to eat and no stress?"  I could, but I would never know what learning, what growth, what adventures, what richness of life I would be missing.  There is no growth in the comfort zone.

The funny thing about human nature is that we actually need growth to thrive.  Staying in exactly the same place, being stagnant, is contrary to the nature of our beings.  It creates unhappiness within us.  Movement, progress, growth is what our souls need and yearn for.  It's why we are here.  We are not here to be stagnant.

I am not suggesting that you should jump out of your comfort zone with both feet and stay there.  No,  I am suggesting that making small incremental movements outside of your comfort zone is progress toward growth.

You have so much to offer the world, even your little corner of it.  There are times in life where the comfort zone is exactly where we need to be in order to rest and recover.  At other times we need a season of growth.  Ask yourself, "Is there something that is not yet in my comfort zone that I should be working on?"

A right-handed person can write their name easily with their right hand.  A left-handed person can write their name easily with their left hand.  It is in their comfort zone.  But it wasn't always so.  When you first learned to write your name it felt awkward and difficult.  It looked sloppy.  It was hard to control the pencil.  Now it is smooth and fast.  You hardly think about it.  Try writing with your non-dominant hand.  At first it feels awkward and difficult.  It again looks sloppy.  It is hard to control the pencil.  If you continue to practice with that hand that is outside its comfort zone, it slowly gets easier and easier, until that thing that felt uncomfortable before becomes comfortable!

What little thing (or big thing) would you like to add to your comfort zone?  Of course it is going to be hard at first, like learning to write with your non-dominant hand.  It will feel awkward, difficult and sloppy, but that won't stop you.  Keep working at it.  Imagine what forward movement and growth you can create in your life with these small movements!

A wonderfully successful friend of mine once said, "You should always have something on your calendar that is outside of your comfort zone".

My good friend Kathy Gowans gave me this quote by Ralph Waldo Emerson: "That which we persist in doing becomes easier, not that he nature of the task has changed, but our power to do has increased."

Is it your time to make a movement toward growth in some area of your life?  Ask yourself: Is there something that is not yet in my comfort zone that I should be working on?  If something comes to mind, put it on your vision board, your calendar, or list it with your goals, then be brave and go for it!  You will find that each time you get outside that comfort zone and work at something, your comfort zone will grow bigger, and bigger, and bigger.  It all happens one small movement at a time.