Living outside your comfort zone
We love the idea that whatever we do is within our personal acceptable limits. We enjoy being in within this “zone” as it is comfortable. We barely stretch out from its walls to improve ourselves ever so slightly and then retreat within once again. This is called our comfort zone. It is known, it is safe and secure. Any ideas that break down these walls or require us to jump across the safety of the boundaries gives us concern and we dare not venture out. Inside the zone is the knowledge that we have obtained through out our lives either through experienced triumphs or fears or things we have been told without much basis in fact. Tales of others experiences from long long ago are firmly entrenched within us, leaving a footprint if you will into our psyche. The ego is the king or queen of this realm and clearly very happy to run a tight reign. When the drawbridge of the castle of comfort is drawn up and the windows are tightly shut, there is little room for reason to creep in and bring you out to explore anything. You bolt the doors and get into your proverbial comfortable slippers and lie on the comfy sofa and do not take any calls.
Now outside this zone is the unknown, and everything that you really choose to desire, choose to do and choose to become. Yet you have to choose to come out. Living outside your comfort zone is very hard for your ego, but very easy for your true Self that knows what to expect, namely freedom to do anything. Whether you choose to explore new lands, change your career, pick up new hobbies, learn new skills, try a new experience, you usually take permission from your ego, who usually says a big emphatic NO ! Somehow you escape and do what it is you choose to do and the zone becomes bigger. Once you experience something it now becomes part of your repertoire of knowledge and the ego accepts it. The tough part is trying to get the walls permeable enough to continuously keep experiencing new things and then like a balloon it expands and the comfort zone encompasses everything. However note that like the balloon, the zone will also at some point grow to a certain size and then stop expanding or burst. This problem occurs because like with the balloon, boundaries and walls will always restrict us.
A novel idea is to liberate ourSelves from the said comfort zone and find another form of housing, essentially living free outside of the comfort zone at all times. The universe will provide you with all you ever will need to live outside the constraining zone, making your stay more comfortable. You are going to have to negotiate with the ever powerful ego and let it understand that it is in its best interest to join in the fun, and that it is still in control of itself but not of you. There are infinite possibilities awaiting you to explore and for you to grow. You are the true king or queen of your castle and world. Will you let your subjects like the ego and the mind, chain you in your own home, or will you open the front door, step outside and take in the sights, sounds and a big breath of fresh air.
Have you scaled the walls of your comfort zone yet?
