Dare To Step Out Of The Comfort Zone In Your Personal Life

Are you comfortable? Are you snugly curled up in your comfort zone in your personal life and comfortably doing what you've always been doing? Are you reluctant to move out of your situation even though you know there is something better?

Your comfort zone denotes the personal space, or way of doing things, in which you get comfortable, whether it's good or bad. You may not want to change because you are afraid of disrupting things as they are, for fear that things may turn out worse. You may feel it is too big a step to take, too much to suffer.

It is true that the human mind needs variety to thrive and grow and continue to be creative. But we're not talking about changing for the sake of change alone.

It is stepping out of the comfort zone of bad habits, like excessive TV viewing, staying in a bad relationship, being lazy and not knowing how to get out of it, overeating, being close minded, being comfortable with the current way of doing things which is not ideal or not suited to our talents or aspirations, and being fearful of being better for fear of being ridiculed. You can probably think of more 'comfort zones' that you're familiar with.

Why do we tend to want to stay in our comfort zones? Because it is comfortable. It is not easy to be uncomfortable. Change requires risk, courage, discomfort and hard work. It is more comfortable to repeat a negative action than to change it.

" Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover." Mark Twain

It is true that deep down inside, we are created to be more fulfilled when we follow our dreams. We are meant to rise above obstacles put before us, and live such that we are true to ourselves. When we do listen to the still small voice within and live our best do we know, even if it is uncomfortable at first, it will reap great rewards. And to implement this belief in an often cynical and negative world, we need to trust and believe in ourselves and have the faith that we can do it

"The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible, and achieves the impossible"

It is moral courage. It is emotional courage. It is social courage. It may also be physical courage. It takes courage, guts to step out.

There may be a chasm at the bottom. You may fall over a cliff when you go out on a limb. But if you never go out, you will never discover. The wind beneath your wings. The green pastures beyond. You will never know.

It may be totally out of the norm. It may be the opposite way of thinking from the crowd. It may be a matter of being excellent instead of just being mediocre.

But first, you have to know where you are going, what you want to do. When you feel your heart and your actions are not incongruence, it is time to change. When you know deep down inside that you want and should do it, according to your values, go ahead.

Then you have to prepare to change.

And then go for it!

To immunize yourself against any unexpected occurrences, (like when things do not go as expected or when you start to want to give up when you ask yourself why you are doing this you could have been more comfortable where you were), here are some tips

Remind yourself constantly of what you are meant to be, do and accomplish- your mission and vision that you have created for yourself.
Do something small towards that vision. For example, if you meant to lose weight and have planned on sticking to that weight loss diet, don't expect yourself to go crashing with a week of total fast straightaway.
Celebrate your successes and change, no matter how small. Like overcoming and sticking to the weight loss plan for one single day.
Know your talents and strengths. Tap on them.
Continue to dream and reset your goals as you discover more nuggets of wisdom along your journey.
Know what your core values are. Stick to them.
Visualize yourself having conquered and accomplished what you want. Feel the thrill the ramifications, of having succeeded.
Create a habit out of your recent successes. That is, if you want to break an old way of doing things, stick to it for at least 1 month consistently.
Remember you are on a journey. There is no be all or end all. The journey is as enjoyable as the destination.