10 Signs You Are Cemented To Your Comfort Zone


Comfort Zone

Your comfort zone. A place that is very secure and protected, but where nothing is able to grow or flourish.

Comfort zones are places we feel safe. They’re cozy and warm, but unfortunately, if we stay in there too long without venturing out, we become stagnant. We become unable to remember what it’s like to be uncomfortable or afraid. We forget how to deal with change.

[Tweet “A comfort zone is a place that is very secure and protected, but where nothing is able flourish.”]

If you stay in your comfort zone too long, you may start to notice the physical effects. You feel lethargic. Uninspired. You lack energy or motivation. You may have even started to feel a little depressed.

“Iron rusts from disuse; water loses it’s purity from stagnation . . . even so does inaction sap the vigor of the mind.” Leonardo DiVinci

We may be breathing, but are we really living?

If we stay too long, our comfort zone starts to quiet us; it quiets our bravery, our enthusiasm, and our curiosity. For more on this, read about the time I discovered how complacency leads to the silence of our soul.

Here are some ways to tell you may be stuck inside your comfort zone.

  1. You tend to go to the same restaurants and order the same things.
  2. You feel bored and unexcited with life.
  3. When someone asks you to do something new and a little risky or inconvenient, your first reaction is usually no.
  4. You haven’t changed up your personal style in several years.
  5. You rarely make conversation with strangers.
  6. You always tell yourself “someday” you will take that hip hop class, travel to Spain, or learn to paint.
  7. You believe that only after X, Y, and Z are completed, can you start doing the things you really want to do.
  8. You often hold yourself back because of fear of ridicule.
  9. You can’t remember the last time you tried something new.
  10. Life is good, but you’re unhappy and you’re not sure why.

Everyone’s comfort zone is different. Some people are adrenaline junkies and need greater and grander adventures to feel their lives are fulfilled. And some people need to order something different at the sushi bar or learn to drive a stick shift to be challenged and feel gratified with life.

Being stuck in your comfort zone isn’t literally going to kill you. But, it will steal the life from you. It will slowly make you believe it is better to be safe than challenged. You will become more fearful than courageous. You will let opportunities and adventures pass you by until one day, you will wake up and ask, “Where did the time go? I thought I had time.”

Life is short. I know sometimes in the hard moments it can feel painfully long, but it’s not. It will go by in a flash. So we all need to decide if we want to live our lives messy and exhilarating and a little bit scary; vibrantly living up to our greatest potential. Or, if we want to live our lives safe and complacent; never really exploring all we could have been.

It doesn’t matter if you leap out of your comfort zone or tiptoe, as long as you make a conscious effort to get the heck out of there. That you realize what is at stake and work to live the juiciest life possible. Cuz it’s the only one you got!

[Tweet “It doesn’t matter if you leap or tiptoe out of your comfort zone, as long as you get out of there.”]

If you feel this is you, look here to find simple ways to start getting our of your comfort zone.

This topic is one of my passions, so if you’d like to continue the conversation, I’d love to hear about you or your comfort zone in the comments.

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Let’s connect!

Salty Kisses,

Karen

 


15 responses to “10 Signs You Are Cemented To Your Comfort Zone”

  1. I really loved this post. It’s become such a trait saying – – the notion of life beginning at the end of the comfort sound 🙂 – – but I adore how you’ve taken that further. Pointed out what it looks like to be to firmly in our zone of comfy. I can be guilty of feeling number two.

    • Thanks Carla. I think sometimes people think they have to go skydiving to get out of their CZ, when in fact all it takes is a little willingness to be uncomfortable. Thank you for your comment! 🙂

  2. I really liked this post! I found that I am stuck in my comfort zone in some areas and not in others, but the good news is now I know how to get out of it. Great read!

    • Thank you Fabiola! I’d love to hear about the next time you get out of your comfort zone! It doesn’t even have to be anything big! Thank you for your comment! 🙂

  3. Hi Karen, this is great. I fall in to my comfort zones way too often. Reading this was a nice kick in the pants to get back out there. I have a daily routine I “have” to stick to. I feel like I must meditate, I must run, I must write or feel like I wasted the day. I want to live more spontaneously, but it’s not easy for someone like me. You have my wheels turning.

    • Oh Monica! I totally struggle with this, too! Making time for the must do-s but leaving time for the surprises! I hate feeling like I haven’t been productive! Thank you for taking time to read and comment! Let me know if you find the balance . . . I’m still searching!

  4. I so needed to read this. I feel Stuck in so many ways. I don’t try new things enough and I often just say NO automatically if something is inconvenient. I need to get jump out of my zone!