Comfort
Zone
“We
have a normal. As you move outside your comfort zone, what was once
the unknown and frightening becomes your new normal.”
Robin
S. Sharma (Canadian Author)
Yesterday,
my friend, Harry, and I were talking over coffee about how hard it is
to get outside one's comfort zone—and just how narrow and
restrictive that zone can be. I can only speak for myself, but as I
grow older, I value my comfort zone more and more. I am loathe to
push myself to get outside it for more than short stretches of time.
In some ways that's a big problem because it limits my contact with
people and places that stimulate creativity and make me think more
deeply. In other ways, it's just, well, comfortable.
We
all have different comfort zones. Some of us are most comfortable
when we are winging off to someplace exotic or new. I have several
friends like that—staying at home and in familiar surroundings just
makes them twitch. They would rather be in the middle of a city they
don't know, among people who speak a different language, than take a
loaf of banana bread to a new neighbor. I even know a couple of
people who like to do things that hold the risk of death inches from
their faces—like sky dive and rock climb. I think they're crazy,
and they think I am.
I
like this quote from British adventurer, Bear Grylls, “Adventure
should be eighty percent 'I think this is manageable,' but it's good
to have at least twenty percent where you're right outside your
comfort zone. Still safe, but outside you're comfort zone.” I could
get behind that notion. Right outside the comfort zone is definitely doable.
Kind of like not getting too far from “Home free!” when you're
playing hide and seek.
If
we never get outside our comfort zone, we don't learn new things
about ourselves and our world. We can read books and watch TV, but
there is no substitute for experience when it comes to stretching our
world view. I wonder about you. Are you an adventurer?
In
the Spirit,
Jane
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