"Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." Neale Donald Walsch
So today I was thinking about adventures and journeys, and then my dear friend, let's call her JJ to be discreet, reminded me of one of my favorite quotations, and I knew that it was the perfect topic to explore. I have this very firm belief that you never regret stepping outside of your comfort zone; you only regret NOT doing it. In fact, I even believe that everyone should make an effort to step outside of their comfort zone whenever possible as I feel that this is where, as Walsch says, life truly begins. Take a minute to think back to all of the significant events in your life and those that you consider most memorable. I am willing to bet that the anticipation of this event was much scarier than the actual event and that this event, which you now regard as memorable and positive, was once "outside of your comfort zone". Throughout my own experience, I have observed many people at the beginning of their journeys--my former students as they decide where to attend college; my current students--as they have traveled thousands of miles from their homes to study abroad; friends who have made career changes; couples ready to take on the next phase of their lives--marriage, having children, buying a house. I admire anyone who steps outside their comfort zone to begin a journey or adventure, and I know that in the end, their decision was the right one as it brought them to some new level of understanding and appreciation. Furthermore, as we already mentioned, it has become a defining moment in their lives.
People that know me may think that I am enigmatic--and I guess I completely agree with that. Part of that is because I absolutely love stepping outside of my comfort zone (for the most part--like anyone else, I have my times when I want to feel more comfortable and secure). Actually, another one of my friends, let's call her Rachel, and I were once told that we do not seem to have comfort zones. I think that the person who said this to us intended it as an insult, but I actually take her remark as a compliment. I do things just to test myself--I went bungee jumping and skydiving in the same day; I got my black belt in Muay Tai kickboxing, and I ran a half marathon; I traveled to Israel with 48 strangers who I now consider an extension of my family; I started teaching high school when I was 21 years old; I left a very comfortable and rewarding job for the unknown. I am not afraid to step outside of my comfort zone, and every single one of those experiences that I have just described define me for the better.
Mark Twain once said, "Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain". He is absolutely right. In my experience, our own fears and uncertainty are the only things that hold us back, and once we start stepping outside of our comfort zone, it becomes contagious. I don't have a tattoo, but I hear that getting tattooed carries the same kind of effect. In the spirit of stepping outside of my comfort zone, maybe that will be my next endeavor!
I could continue this post for hours and get into a lot of work by Joseph Campbell and the concept of The Heroine's Journey by Maureen Murdoch. I have about a thousand quotations to include and even more books to recommend on this topic. But for now, I will keep this brief.
I AM THINKING THAT EVERYONE SHOULD STEP OUTSIDE OF THEIR COMFORT ZONES! just once...see how it feels :) What do you think?!
So today I was thinking about adventures and journeys, and then my dear friend, let's call her JJ to be discreet, reminded me of one of my favorite quotations, and I knew that it was the perfect topic to explore. I have this very firm belief that you never regret stepping outside of your comfort zone; you only regret NOT doing it. In fact, I even believe that everyone should make an effort to step outside of their comfort zone whenever possible as I feel that this is where, as Walsch says, life truly begins. Take a minute to think back to all of the significant events in your life and those that you consider most memorable. I am willing to bet that the anticipation of this event was much scarier than the actual event and that this event, which you now regard as memorable and positive, was once "outside of your comfort zone". Throughout my own experience, I have observed many people at the beginning of their journeys--my former students as they decide where to attend college; my current students--as they have traveled thousands of miles from their homes to study abroad; friends who have made career changes; couples ready to take on the next phase of their lives--marriage, having children, buying a house. I admire anyone who steps outside their comfort zone to begin a journey or adventure, and I know that in the end, their decision was the right one as it brought them to some new level of understanding and appreciation. Furthermore, as we already mentioned, it has become a defining moment in their lives.
People that know me may think that I am enigmatic--and I guess I completely agree with that. Part of that is because I absolutely love stepping outside of my comfort zone (for the most part--like anyone else, I have my times when I want to feel more comfortable and secure). Actually, another one of my friends, let's call her Rachel, and I were once told that we do not seem to have comfort zones. I think that the person who said this to us intended it as an insult, but I actually take her remark as a compliment. I do things just to test myself--I went bungee jumping and skydiving in the same day; I got my black belt in Muay Tai kickboxing, and I ran a half marathon; I traveled to Israel with 48 strangers who I now consider an extension of my family; I started teaching high school when I was 21 years old; I left a very comfortable and rewarding job for the unknown. I am not afraid to step outside of my comfort zone, and every single one of those experiences that I have just described define me for the better.
Mark Twain once said, "Do the thing you fear most and the death of fear is certain". He is absolutely right. In my experience, our own fears and uncertainty are the only things that hold us back, and once we start stepping outside of our comfort zone, it becomes contagious. I don't have a tattoo, but I hear that getting tattooed carries the same kind of effect. In the spirit of stepping outside of my comfort zone, maybe that will be my next endeavor!
I could continue this post for hours and get into a lot of work by Joseph Campbell and the concept of The Heroine's Journey by Maureen Murdoch. I have about a thousand quotations to include and even more books to recommend on this topic. But for now, I will keep this brief.
I AM THINKING THAT EVERYONE SHOULD STEP OUTSIDE OF THEIR COMFORT ZONES! just once...see how it feels :) What do you think?!
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