Our comfort zone has a real way of babying us. We have grown so accustomed to knowing how things function and work that we don’t see a reason to shake up the routine and flip the script. Eventually, reality will serve us a cold dish that only palettes ready for change can handle. It won’t go down easy. You might gag a little trying to swallow the thought of moving beyond your comfort zone but it’s worth it.
For some, the comfort zone is figurative yet it can also be very literal. It might be moving to a new city for a job, grad school, or college. New scenery and new environments are always difficult to adjust to, but realize that the hardest part of leaving comfort zone is over. You’ve actually made the leap of faith to leave behind your past place and move forward to your next. Be proud of yourself but understand the work doesn’t stop there.
From the literal perspective, this move might call for changes in financial behavior because you’re no longer splitting rent with two other people and you never realized how expensive it is to “adult”. This move might require you to have that difficult conversation with your significant other about whether distance is the real issue or if the only thing holding together the relationship is “history”. You might have to shed your hard exterior and be open to new friendships and relationships because life in a new place can be lonely if you’re not receptive to meeting new people.
Or maybe your move is figurative. You might be shifting mindsets and realizing that your perspective has been jaded by historic ways of thinking. You might have been soaking in a bath of complacency and letting your fingers prune from laziness and nerves. This shift might require cleanses or even a hiatus to realign and get to where you need to go.
I think the real issue with leaving the comfort zone is fear of the unknown. I have come to accept the beauty of uncertainty and not knowing what is next to a certain degree. It’s like holding your breath waiting for your raffle number to be called. You might win the prize or you might not. Either way, you entered yourself into the contest and that takes guts.
Now this wouldn’t be my blog if I didn’t keep it pure and transparent, so let me say this shit won’t be easy. When we learn to accept that we might not know every single step ahead of us, we will get comfortable with being uncomfortable. Growth is the byproduct of big shifts in our environment, atmosphere, and mindset. You might think you’re blind when really you’ve just been living with a blindfold on, afraid to take it off and experience what you’ve been needing.
I believe it’s better to stumble and wobble than stand still letting life and experiences pass you by because you’re afraid of embarrassing yourself or a little knee and elbow scrape. I remember when my dad took my training wheels off my bike and I rode for the first time without those safety wheels. Leaving the comfort zone is like taking off your training wheels and realizing that you can bike up the street with the big kids. It’s scary as hell. You might shed a few tears and go through a few bottles of wine while you try to figure things out and get adjusted. But at the end, you will have gained something rewarding and necessary.
Let this serve as your nudge to make that move. Live your life beyond the comfort zone. The air outside your comfort zone will smell different. It will be filled with lessons ( some tougher than others), opportunity, self realization, and answers. Stop stalling and start living, loves.
love and light,
Victoria
inthewordsofvic.wordpress.com 