Every one of us has – and needs – a comfort zone. It’s that place of quiet retreat behind clearly identified boundaries. It’s a personal space we have built for ourselves. Intruders – no matter how well meaning – are excluded. It’s that place in our heads and our hearts where we feel safe.
The problem can be, however, that all too often we make our comfort zone our mental address…a territory of our own creation in which we choose to live…a psychological fortress. That’s as potentially dangerous as it is impractical.
Our comfort zone should be a place of occasional retreat, not defeat. Somewhere we can regroup and rearm for the challenges we face.
The lessons we need to learn, the truths we have to encounter, the growth and progress we need to make are all outside our comfort zone. There are points in our life when we have to stand still and catch our breath. Accepting that, we must also understand that if we stop growing we start dying. Our comfort zone can become our prison without us even realising that the change from positive to negative is happening. Improvement doesn’t happen without effort.
The very best version of ourselves that we can possibly be will not be found inside the boundaries of our comfort zone. The raw materials are there. The potential is there. But the opportunities exist outside. Change is the result of accepted challenge. Dreams do not become reality without exertion and deliberate effort.
When considering our comfort zone we must not lose our sense of perspective but we must come to terms with our fear of the unknown. The good news is that real and lasting progress is not made in leaps and bounds. Often the best we can muster is a quiet shuffle…one foot in front of the other…with purpose. And that can be enough.
Gary Bentley Counselling 