A comfort zone sounds like a good idea: a place where we feel we can safely cope with life's challenges. But when we get stuck there, it becomes the most uncomfortable place we can be.
Our first comfort zone was a warm and cosy cot. All we needed in between feeds was a dummy and our rattle. If any of those elements were missing, we yelled for them until we got them. You can probably think of someone who behaves like they are still stuck in that place?
To really live, we need to grow. To do that, we need to be constantly pushing out the boundaries of our so-called comfort zone.
But most of us have stopped short. The comfort zone to which we habitually return has become a prison that restricts our growth: an artificial limit on how much we earn, the circles in which we move, the things we are willing to try, the passion with which we live and love.
*****
Most of the time we steer through life as if we are running on auto-pilot, guided by our memories of past experiences. It's a very useful system that saves us having to think out the same things over and over. It also keeps us safe when there is no time to think. But there is a serious downside.
Our auto-pilot system is in the domain of our unconscious mind. It lacks discernment. It cannot figure out that a new opportunity would be far more comfortable for us than a familiar old situation. The tendency is always to shrink back.
Our auto-pilot can even engineer self-sabotage to keep us behind limits it perceives as safe. It means well, but often it is acting like a child afraid of some imaginary bogey-man.
*****
We need to take control every now and then, and push out at the limits of our comfort zone. Unless we keep challenging our limits, we are allowing our challenges to limit us.
A good habit to develop is to regularly seek out new challenges that take us on excursions outside of our comfort zone. Exploring them can help flush away outmoded ideas and beliefs. Focus on the process rather than the results. That way you are always a winner, because there is always something to learn, whatever the outcome.
*****
Feelings of resistance (which we looked at earlier) can be a sign that we are nudging the imaginary walls of our confining prison. We may fear that if we venture further we are are in danger of breaking down. But often, the fear turns out to be a thin veil, covering up an opportunity to break free.
Try this. Run through all the posts in this "A to Z for SUCCESS" series, and pick out not your favourites but the ones you feel uncomfortable with. Take a closer look at them. What is the challenge that is limiting you? And how might you challenge that limitation?
Next, we shall take a look at another uncomfortable topic: VAMPIRES.
This post is part of "An A to Z for Success". See the side panel on the right for an index.