The comfort zone is a place that paralyzes many. It drains the energy needed to sustain the long legs of a purposeful journey. This may be why many claim that it’s beneficial to get uncomfortable.

The Dynamic Beat Beyond the Comfort Zone

To stand at the edge of that circle and gaze wantonly into its center only serves to layer the seeds of change into an impenetrable womb at our feet. Those seeds want to come alive and experience their full unbridled potential, bursting through the surface of their imposed limits and reaching heights that offer spectacular sights.

Once beyond the banality of circumstance, these seeds extend their curiosity and offer life, love, and abundance to all who care to share on their journey. The fruits of their growth exemplify the very core of living in full bloom. No longer diminished by the emptiness of their cocoons, they free themselves to enjoy the mysteries, adventures, and gifts that await beyond the comfort zone.

It is in this space where they grow into the majestic beings nature intended them to be – full of glory and intrigue, cultivating the uncharted into something so familiar it too will eventually demand rebirth.

Sometimes in life, people had to learn to swallow fears and walk past the shadows that lurked. I approached one of those times. It wasn’t about me anymore. It was about so much more than me.” Jane in The Muse

Jane in The Muse had it right. She would never be able to be the positive influence she needed to be without allowing herself to come out of her comfort zone. I think most of us have been there, in that moment when our comfort gets in the way of our growth. 

A Recent Experience

I recently visited Epcot Center and ran into a situation that inspired me to stretch beyond my comfort zone. I ventured into Ellen’s Energy Adventure and landed eyes on a peculiar sight. Before me was a waiting room of sorts, a large oval shaped space that housed an enormous screen displaying a fun commentary by Ellen. The hundred or so people in the room gathered along the back wall, leaving the entire center vacant. I followed my friend to the far reaches of the wall so as not to get in anyone’s way. We stood craning our necks to see the screen. I looked to the center of the empty room again and thought, ‘what a waste!’

It dawned on me that all of us were so uncomfortable to make that first bold step to fill the room that we suffered in cramped unison. I thought, ‘this is a fantastic opportunity to get comfortable with being uncomfortable.’

“F&%k this kinked neck!” I thought.

I boldly opened up my stride and planted myself smack dab in the center of the room where I enjoyed a most spectacular view of Ellen! Suddenly, everyone else followed my bold lead, leaving the comfort of that back wall to embrace the full display they paid good money to see.

This got me thinking how comfortable most of us are just standing by the sidelines, stuck in the routine of the norm, and how by holding onto it with such determined rigidity we forfeit the chance at viewing the world through its widest lens.

A sense of empowerment flowed in me as more and more people filtered in around me.

Getting out of my comfort zone felt amazing!

Since that day, I’ve committed to taking small steps each day to stretch beyond the comfortable. The result has been a shedding of the old to make room for the new.

If you’d like to try breaking free of your comfort zone, too, here are some ways:

  • Smile at a stranger
  • Compliment someone
  • Make a phone call you’ve been avoiding
  • Ask for something you desire
  • Take the lead
  • Face a fear
  • Do something that normally makes you uncomfortable

Help me out. Share your ideas on how we can break free of the comfort zone!