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Moving Towards Health

Free yourself from your comfort zone

Maggi Fitzpatrick
Posted 9/13/22

Have you ever experienced a longing to try something new or push yourself to a limit you haven’t yet and then talk yourself out of it? I’m sure you’ve experienced this many times …

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Moving Towards Health

Free yourself from your comfort zone

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Have you ever experienced a longing to try something new or push yourself to a limit you haven’t yet and then talk yourself out of it? I’m sure you’ve experienced this many times like I have. Something interesting happens after I convince myself not to go for it: I never actually feel better.

We’re really good at convincing ourselves to stay in our comfort zone, or a place or situation where one feels safe or at ease and without stress. But if we’re staying in a place we know we don’t belong anymore, are we truly at ease and without stress? For me, not answering the call to uplevel always produces a lot more stress and uneasiness than what comes with the hard work of learning something new and growing. 

One reason we find ourselves retreating back into our comfort zone is fear of both failure and success. What if we don’t make it? What if we do, and we aren’t the person we thought we would be? These seem like very valid reasons to stay comfortable, but we know they don’t produce feelings of deep satisfaction. What if we can find peace and safety outside of our comfort zone?

I do not believe that we are meant to stay in what feels familiar for our entire lives. Cory Muscara describes fear beautifully in his book, Stop Missing Your Life. He says, “Curiosity can soften fear, the same way love can soften hate. It’s as if a switch gets flipped in our brain, turning on a perceived safety with which we’re able to lean into experiences we might otherwise turn away from.”

If we can tap into curiosity when our brain is telling us to go back into our comfort zone, we can find safety in situations in which we would normally feel afraid. It is very liberating knowing fear will keep us stuck, but curiosity will help us soar.

This is such an impactful perspective when it comes to changing our habits. It can be very scary to change the way you eat, move your body, consume drinks, and interact with those around you. It often feels much easier to stay doing exactly what you are doing now than it does to make changes that will be difficult for you and those around you. Staying where you are is always more difficult than taking action to get where you want to go. If you stay, you will be dealing with the same aches, pains, insecurities, and doubts that you are right now. It’s costing you your potential, and only during the process of striving to be our best selves will we ever feel fulfilled. 

Next time you have the urge to make a change in your health, sit with the thoughts that tell you not to do it. Thank them, because they are there to keep you safe. Release them without judgement, because you are repeating a pattern that has worked well for you in the past. Take a deep breath, and remind yourself that the desire to change is leading you in the direction you’re supposed to go. If you make one decision differently today, how could that change the trajectory of your life? The answer is infinitely. 

Get out of your comfort zone. Your future self will thank you.

Xoxo

Coach Maggi 

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