When I first stepped on this path I was desperate, desperate to feel better, desperate not to hate myself, desperate to not want to harm myself, desperate to make that dim little light inside of me brighter. And as much as I wanted to change, to grow, to get better, there were times I pushed back, recoiled, and didn’t want to do the work. The thought of sharing what I had been doing, thinking, and the way I had been living made my skin crawl, I was afraid you all would judge me and I would be left alone, a fear I had lived with my whole life, but now, my life depended on me stepping outside my comfort zone and taking action. You see, my comfort zone had gotten me to that place, it had gotten me to a bottom, emotionally, spiritually, mentally, and even though stepping out of it and trying a new way of living made sense, and I wanted it, I had to actually take the steps to do it, to take action, no matter how uncomfortable it felt, because it was a better path, and a path that would save my life.
We’ve all been hurt, kicked around, criticized, made fun of, and when those things happened to us, we shut down, we retreated, we hid, we found a place to live that was safe, but in doing that we cut ourselves off from experiencing new things, from hearing new voices, and living life. For me, when I stayed in my comfort zone I didn’t grow, or learn, and I started listening to the voices in my head that told me to stay there, and that I belonged there, and the longer I lived in my comfort zone the more the fear grew inside me and the harder it was to step out of it, that fear became so big and so loud that it keeps kept me there, like a prisoner, only, I held the key to get out.
It goes back to saying yes. We all know in our hearts what we should be doing, we make excuses for not doing them, or trying them, but we know staying tucked away in our comfort zone is not living life to it’s fullest, and not utilizing who we are and what we’re capable of. The fear of stepping out isn’t real, it is us reliving situations from our past and dragging them into our present, but if we’re choosing to surround ourselves with the right people, living as our authentic selves, asking for what we want, and letting others know what our intentions are, finding out the facts, we are safe, we are safe to try new things, with new people, and we are free from the shackles we have placed on ourselves.
For me, getting out of my comfort zone, trusting the people around me who had walked this path before me, and learning to trust myself and my instincts, saved my life, it also gave me a new one, a life full of new friends, new experiences, new tools to use, and a lot of healing and love. It also taught me about humility, and that it was OK to not get things right the first time, most people don’t get things right the first time they try them, that’s part of the fun of trying something new, or part of the journey to SLAYDOM, the point is just to try, to put yourself out there and fly. Your comfort zone will still be there to sneak back to for a break, but the more you step out of it, the more you realize that it’s really a prison of your own making, it will become less and less comfortable as you grow, heal, and sore like you never have before.
Think about all the things you want for yourself, and ask yourself if you can achieve those things in our comfort zone, SLAYER, my guess is you probably can’t, I know I couldn’t. Take the leap, or maybe slide a toe over, walk on the wild side, and leave your comfort zone behind, there are exciting things waiting for you out there, far beyond your imagination, trust me, I’m writing this from far beyond mine.
SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you tend to stay within your comfort zone and not try new things? Why do you think you do that? What do you think will happen if you do venture out of your comfort zone? Are you basing your fears on your past? Do you want to live your life for today or stay stuck in the past? What can you do today to make a positive step to get out of our comfort zone? Challenge yourself SLAYER to try 5 new things this week, and write down how you feel after you’ve done them. I’m right out there with you SLAYER, and there are others, you are not alone, take that step towards us.
S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you
State Of Slay™ 
I was in a comfort zone without knowing it – I was a wife, a sister, a daughter- only performing in those realms. Now I’m still a sister & daughter but I’m returning to my independent self. I’ve jumped on that plane flew across country for a weekend of solidarity & fun. I am working on getting things marked off that bucket list before I’m too old. I’m letting that fear of failure be my encouragement instead of my restraint. I have one life and I should enjoy it surrounded by people and places that make it memorable.
Slay on My spirit animal. Love & respect always.
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THIS! I’m letting that fear of failure be my encouragement instead of my restraint.
Love reading that Lisa, that should be on a T-Shirt! SLAY on!
I think that many of slip into a comfort zone that feels safe, and where we’re “supposed” to be without asking ourselves where we want to be, or where we aspire to be, and it’s easy to get stuck there. It usually takes something that truly rocks our world, and our comfort zone, to get us to move out of there, and when we do, we realize that it really wasn’t safe in there to begin with, it was just safe for those around us who wanted us there because we were doing what was expected of us, playing the role society thought we should play, and we thought we should play to stay safe, but life isn’t about playing it safe, life is about adventure, learning, growth, finding out who we truly are and what we want, none of that happens in the comfort zone.
It sounds like you’ve broken free and have already had some amazing adventures, keep living outside those comfort walls and more and more will come, far beyond your imagination, trust me, so many have come to me I never would have imagined.
SLAY on my dear friend, SLAY on.
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I’m always afraid because of me different physically and emotionally. I just wanted to be loved sometimes but my experiences with women they have treated me badly. I had to get out my comfort zone and not give up on myself.
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Never give up on yourself, you are worth fighting for!
When we have lost our sense of self worth we often make bad decisions, or at the very least, not the best decisions, on who we let into our lives. When we love and honor who we are we attract people who respect that, who see the awesomeness of who we are, and honor those things in us.
A great blog to read is People Picker, if you haven’t already, if you go to the menu on the top right corner and scroll down to the search bar you can search the title and it will come up.
It’s hard to let go of the pain of our past, but as we begin to make better choices for ourselves we learn to trust ourselves more and those who we invite into our life.
I encourage you to continue to SLAY along with us, and to keep fighting for you, because you’re worth it!
Keep stepping out of your comfort zone and you will find goodness there, you may also find some things that aren’t good, but you’ll learn to identify them faster and to let them go, stay with the good and focus on the good, and the good with come to you.
SLAY on Corey!
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