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Are you aware of where your comfort zone is? That invisible boundary that holds you firmly in place and can prevent you moving too far in any given direction.
Imagine it now as a chalk line drawn in a circle and you standing planted in the middle.
You’re safe! You’re comfortable. You’re probably not challenged much and for many of us that is just how we like it.
The trouble with this is that we can also be stuck. Rooted to the spot. Not exactly happy with how things are in our lives but too scared or unsure to make a move beyond the line of chalk.
And so we walk life. Hemmed in securely by our little bubble of safety where we know what to expect and how to act and react to life’s experiences.
On occasion life will throw us a curve ball that belts us in an unexpected direction (we’re playing poison ball here, not baseball!) and we bounce painfully against our comfort zone.
If the experience is a negative one it causes great distress. We will do anything to scramble back into the centre of our bubble. “Life cannot stay like this” your internal alert system is screaming.
On occasion it’s not possible to do anything but to confront the situation and, sensibly, we draw on resources we didn’t know we had or hadn’t previously collected during our life journey because we’d never needed them before.
The outcome? A smudging of the boundary chalk. A redefining of the comfort zone that we had previously thought was settled and stable.
Life is not always about the negatives that bring change though. Sometimes that curve ball sweeps us unexpectedly away to something wonderful. Enlightening! Brilliant!
Happily we reach our tentative foot beyond the chalk mark into the unknown because we just want to hold onto this new experience forever.
Obligingly the comfort zone boundaries enlarge and settle where you have now found your new centre.
One thing is sure. Once you have looked beyond the boundaries of what you previously knew there is no going back. You cannot peep beyond the known and into the possibilities life holds without being changed forever. Once you know something it is impossible to un-know it.
And there you remain. In your circle. A bigger circle. An expanded circle whose arc sweeps to bump against more than you’d previously comprehended. Nudging the unknown possibilities in life that you are yet to see.
Can your mind’s eye see you there right now?
Look beyond the circle. The world outside yourself is endless. How much there is to discover that is not you… yet.
We can learn anyway we choose, through grace or challenge. I read today a quote that went something like this "the brain when stretched to new dimensions never goes back its original form" meaning when we stretch our boundaries our brains physically change and are forever more capable than they were. Thought it suited your lovely words here Heather.
Once again great article, see my comment on the other article.
Heather, I like your analogy "little bubble of safety". So often we stay within our bubbles in order to maintain that safe feeling but once we break out of our bubble we begin to truly live. nice article Heather
Thank you Jay. Gives a new connotation to the old "having your bubble burst!" An instant when it's a good thing!
Yes, you're right. We're facing some possible big life changes at the moment and I'm using the "one day at a time" theory a fair bit. I don't think it's about that we 'must' push our comfort zone but that we shouldn't be intimidated by the opportunity when it arises. Thanks for your comment.
it can be stressful to make too many moves beyond the line of chalk
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