The Comfort zone. How many of us step into this zone fifty times a day. Most of us probably only do it once a day. We step into it in the morning and step out in the evening. Is that your case? I can’t truly say that it’s mine because I love trying new stuff. But I do slip into it occasionally. I don’t notice when I step in to it, only when it’s time to step out of it. Perhaps everyone is like this.
The comfort zone might not always be considered a bad zone. Sometimes we’re facing a severe case of anxiety and stress, and in this case finding a zone where we feel safe– our comfort zone– would help a lot. Wouldn’t it? But the problem is when we’re in our comfort zone, we miss out on so much. Some people simply don’t like trying new stuff, I don’t like change, (read more about dealing with change) I think that is one of my reasons for stepping into my comfort zone. But like I wrote a while ago, change will usually turn out to be something we’ll be thankful for later, even if we aren’t at the time. In the same way, trying something new will end up doing us good. It might not at first. Like trying new food. I’ve tried food that turned out nasty, but then I knew what to avoid next time. But my results for trying new food doesn’t always end up this way, sometimes it’s delicious and I’m glad I tried it. If I wouldn’t have tried it I would have missed out on something wonderful. And how could I have known if it was bad or not if I would have never tried it?
Fear could be considered the main reason why most people don’t step out of their comfort zone. I wrote about fear of man a few weeks ago, but now I’m talking about a different fear, which I will write about in a future blog post (click here for a post schedule). But for now we need to focus on pushing fear aside. I’m convinced fear is my main reason for locking my self up in my comfort zone. I’m afraid of, “what it I don’t make it”, “what if I fail”, “what if it turns out terrible!” These thoughts creep into my head over and over. If I let them take control, I don’t even get a chance to climb back into my comfort zone, because I never even left.
The adventure starts when we leave our comfort zone.
Do you want to be an artist? An architect? Perhaps a herbalist? Or wait, an astronaut! Now you think you might be on your way. It took forever to get yourself to get your feet wet or haven’t you even gone that far yet? Your probably telling yourself, “I’ll stay here where it’s safe. Here I know what I’m doing, and plus I’m not ready for the major part yet.” Your stuck in your comfort zone! I’ve told myself this so many times! First I started writing stories for only my eyes to read, then I fought with myself to slowly start letting others see them. I was nervous, I was afraid. Not only because it was something completely different for me, but because I was afraid of it not being good enough. But that gave me every reason to step out of my comfort zone and further into the water. That fear turned into motivation, and after years of letting friends and family read my stories, I started to send them out. No I wasn’t always good enough–and still aren’t sometimes–but eventually I told myself, “Okay, I’m not good enough now, then watch me become the best!” I know I will never learn everything and I will never become the best, because no matter how good I get there will always be room for improvement. Only one human on earth was ever and will ever be perfect at anything He does, but this saying pushes me to try and step out of my comfort zone.
But thanks be unto God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere. 2 Corinthians 2:14 ESV
You see, so much can happen when we step out. We might open our eyes and see someone in need, we might change their life–if we step out. We might see the most amazing things, if we step out. We might experience the most incredible feeling, if we step out. So much awaits us; we are capable of so much . . . when we, step out.