A Step Beyond the Comfort Zone

If you're anything like me, stepping outside of your comfort zone enters you into a haunted forest filled with screeching owls and glowing red eyes. It is alarmingly scary and makes you run right back into your little comfort hole with rainbows and lollipops. But this isn't supposed to scare you into staying in your bubble, in fact, this is quite the opposite.

Once you peek around your little wall labeled comfort and peer into this immensely horrifying beyond you may think to yourself "why would anyone go there?" and that's completely normal. Seriously, what's the benefit of forcing yourself to step beyond your comfort zone? Well, let me paint you a picture.

Let's say you actually did leave your little hole of all things familiar and safe, and you stepped beyond your comfort wall. You're terrified. The unnerving glowing red eyes tell you to give up, you'll never make it out. Worn out wooden signs advise you to turn back. There isn't even a clear cut path and you wander aimlessly about. Your thoughts echo in the dark, telling you this isn't worth it, there is no other side, turn back and run.

Despite the signs that attempt to dissuade you, you stay and continue forward. Time seems to have slowed down and there is nothing telling you if you are going the right way. You feel alone, like no one is there to help. You feel this is useless and you'll be wandering in the dark forever. But just when you feel you have had enough, when you feel like giving up, when you feel there is no point anymore, a light appears, the end is nigh.

Before you reach the end of this treacherous journey, you see something, a silhouette of a person. Behold, millions of people are doing the exact same thing as you, heading toward the light, trying to make it through this dark, dreary forest.

You may be surprised that you weren't actually alone although your thoughts made you believe so. But you made it, no matter what, you conquered the first step beyond your comfort zone. Be happy, feel proud, you did it and I bet you it wasn't that bad.

So you finally reached the light and now you're standing right outside of the dark, frightening forest, a symbol of your anxieties that tried to hold you back. Now, look around. You made it past the worst part. Sit back and relax as you continue moving forward. You may look back and see that forest receding in the distance, that part is over and there is so much more fun and interesting places ahead.

Now you made it past your comfort zone and accomplished what you set out to do (be it talking to your crush, setting up an appointment, or riding a roller coaster for the first time), now what? Well it's time to go back into your comfort zone, but don't worry, there will be a time when you have to leave it again and I hope it won't be as bad. You already learned to conquer those pesky little fears and anxieties. It won't be easy to do it again, but now you know you're not alone, you CAN do it again.

Sometimes it may feel like leaving your comfort zone isn't worth it, it's too much of a hassle. And while I'm guilty of doing exactly that, the best part of leaving your comfort zone is growing. You learn to do things you never imagined and that's the beauty of life. Take risks because you'll never know when something good comes around. And if nothing good came from that one risk, that's ok, you lived and you learned. Just remember to never give up and try again!

So, I hope the next time you may think "um, no thanks, I'll stay right here in my little comfort hole", you'll actually peek around your comfort wall and just go for it!

H