So many people these days are trapped inside a box. They think the same thoughts, speak the same words, behave the same way, and do the same things – every day. It’s so easy to get caught up in a daily routine that we rarely take time to stop and think about where our habits are leading us. But if we don’t figure out what our core values are – what we really want in life , and create our habits based on that, we end up living on “auto-pilot” – programmed by someone else through advertisements, television, and other people’s beliefs. On auto-pilot your destiny is chosen for you by other people. Wouldn’t you rather choose your own destination in life – isn’t that what will make you truly fulfilled?
So why are so many of us trapped in our lives? It’s because we’re thinking the same thoughts and doing the same things – day in and day out. You’re life will only change to the degree you’re willing to change your thoughts and actions. And that’s difficult to do because we all have a comfort zone. Do you avoid strangers? Are you afraid of public speaking? The only way to overcome that fear is to push your comfort zone and that requires will-power. Once you’ve decided that you can no longer live a certain way – in a constant fear of strangers for example – then you will muster up the will power to begin speaking to strangers. After you courageously do this time and time again, your fear will slowly dissipate.
I believe that if you want the most out of life you have to constantly be pushing your comfort zone. Quit jobs, start new jobs, seek promotions, start a business, move to another country, meet new people, speak publicly, strike up conversations with random people. Live your life as though it were an experiment. What’s the worst that could happen? Sometimes you will fail to achieve the the results you desire, but you will never fail to learn something. And by constantly failing and learning you continually increase your will power, knowledge, and self-esteem. You also inch closer to discovering your true values, beliefs, and desires. After you’ve uncovered them, you can develop habits that are aligned with them.
If quitting your job or moving to a different country are too high risk for you, try these smaller changes for now:
- Listen to a different radio station on the way to work
- Watch a movie of a different genre
- Flip to a random TV channel and force yourself to watch it for 10 minutes
- Get your news from a different source
You never know what interesting material you might find that you’ve been missing out on for so many years! You might relate to it and discover an interest of yours you never knew existed. The point I’m trying to make here is never let yourself fall into a routine that prevents new ideas from entering your head. Once you open your mind to new ways of thinking, you’ll begin to take action you didn’t know you were capable of.
The only benefit of staying in your comfort zone is security and predictability. But you’ll never experience or become anything extraordinary by remaining stagnant! If you never take risks then you doom yourself to a mundane and mediocre life. Put yourself out on the limb and feel the excitement it adds to to your life. Work your way through the challenges that you create for yourself and discover who you really are and what you really want out of life. I think that’s the best way to fulfilment.
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2 Responses to “Reaching Fulfillment By Pushing Your Comfort Zone”
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May 3rd, 2009 at 12:20 am
Couldn´t agree better. I am aware of a need to experience new things constantly. I enjoy meeting new places, people, concepts, recipes, techniques… there´s always something new to learn and welcome to bring diversity to our days.
A sparkle of life!..be capable of astonishment, a way to keep joyful
May 3rd, 2009 at 12:28 am
Ops I forgot to comment…
Instead of “comfort zone” it could be “secure zone”. Much people won´t dare to try new things for “security”, fear is the worst hook. Therefore dealing with fears becomes a challenging situation.