We have all heard before that we don’t grow in our comfort zones. This is true. We can make one mighty comfy nest for ourselves, excusing away the behaviors or habits that are preventing us from moving forward and reaching our goals. We may know we have to step out of the comfortable place we are in but the fear or inconvenience of making the changes keeps us shackled where we are. But we will never reach out full potential or see our dreams come to fruition sitting in that comfort zone.
For me, I was a determined and driven person in my career, but in my personal life, and my mental and spiritual life, I stayed in my comfort zone, repeating the same behaviors over and over and hoping things would change on their own. They never did. Well, they actually did change, but for the worse, never better. The reason for that is I wasn’t meant to stay where I was, and by remaining where I thought I was comfortable, or what I knew, I was keeping myself sick, both mentally and spiritually, and watching myself get sicker. The realization of how far down I had fallen became the overwhelming factor that kept me from breaking free of the prison I had built for myself, and I was fortunate that the place I found myself became so scary and dark that I finally reached my hand out for help from the darkness looking for the light.
To start building that character I had to learn to accept that the process of healing and getting well was going to be uncomfortable, I didn’t like it at first, and it was hard to sit in the uncomfortableness of that new way of life, but I knew I had to keep pushing forward because what was waiting for me in the place I was coming from was not where I wanted to be. I had to use my stubbornness I had used to derail my life and redirect it for good, to dig my heels in and hang onto the hope that things would get better, and they did, sometimes very slowly, but they did. I had to change my focus and priorities to that of my character, and I had to trust that as I did that would become my new comfort zone. And it did, although there were many uncomfortable moments along the way, in fact, I’ve learned, on my journey, that those uncomfortable moments are where the growth is happening, the change, so I began to welcome those moments as they were indicators that I was on the right path, and, that as uncomfortable as it may feel in the moment, something great was going to be on the other side of that. Today when I feel too comfortable, I know I need to start to do some work and check-in to see if I have settled into a new comfort zone instead of continuing my journey forward.
It’s easy to settle into a place we find comfortable, and even if that place isn’t giving us what we need, we may stay there because it’s what we know, or what we think we deserve, but, we should always be pushing ourselves to change, grow and reach our full potential, to step out of the comfort zone and let our heart shine. Those moments when we step out of what we know to try something new will show us who we are and who we can be, and hopefully inspire us to continue to reach even greater heights. Step out and try something new, that discomfort you feel may just be the growth you’re looking for. SLAY on!
SLAY OF THE DAY: Do you think you are stuck in your comfort zone? What makes you think that? Are you happy where you are? Is your comfort zone holding you back from where you would like to go or would like to do? How is it doing that? What can you do to change that? What goals would you like to achieve that you have yet to achieve? How can you achieve them? What can you change today to start that process? Let go of where you are and find where you should be. Staying where it may feel safe will not challenge you and get you to where you need to be.
S – self L – love A – appreciate Y – you
State Of Slay™ 