Have you ever heard the phrase, “You’ve got to step out of your comfort zone.”? I know I have. As someone who played sports in high school, I heard it all the time. But, it’s not just athletics that this age-old phrase applies to. It applies to, well, just about everything. In life, we develop ourselves as people by trying different things that are sometimes a wee bit distressing. Pushing yourself out of your comfort zone is how you progress. It’s how you learn about yourself as a person. It’s how you find out what your strengths and weaknesses are. Getting out of your comfort zone lets you see new things and meet new people. To sum it up, getting a little bit uncomfortable in the short-term will make you much more comfortable in the long term.
So you don’t like stepping outside of your happy place. I understand. Doing something outside of your comfort zone is, naturally, uncomfortable. But, even though you might not like it, you really don’t have much of a choice. Well, you do, but it seems like a pretty clear choice to me.
Option A: Expand your comfort zone and meet new, exciting people, learn new, exciting things, find yourself as a person, and actually experience life.
Or
Option B: Don’t do anything, don’t meet anybody, don’t experience life, be boring, move underground, change your name to Bilbo, become disgusting and pale, eat only raw potatoes, and have no friends.
Hopefully you chose Option A. If you did, not only did you just win a bazillion dollars, but you’re making a good decision. If you chose Option B, well, you better find a nice hill to start digging into and a good potato patch. You’re gonna need it.
Obviously, I’m kidding about Option B. Well, it was serious until the whole moving underground part. But you guys probably get the point.
Seriously, if you ever want to better yourself and experience life, you’re going to have to put yourself out there. Cause one thing’s for sure; no one’s going to do it for you. Go out! Meet new people. Try new things. It’s all part of becoming who you are.
And don’t come complaining to me when you don’t have anyone to hang out with, you’re bored, and you have no idea what you want to do with your life. That’s on you. You need to put yourself out there, see what there is to see. There’s only one person who can push you out of your comfort zone: YOU
Take some initiative. Do something you’ve never done before. Get a little uncomfortable. When you try something totally new, you really don’t know whats going on. You don’t know how anything works or how anything is supposed to be. But, in time, you figure all that stuff out. You learn and adapt. Your initial discomfort will lead to eventual comfort. And after all is said and done, you’ve made your comfort zone that much bigger.
So, get out of your damn comfort zone. It’s only holding you back. Once you break that barrier, there’s no limit to what you can do. But, it all starts with you.
“Stand up and be counted, or sit your ass in the corner and color.” -Lori Goodwin
End Kwote
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