Comfort Zones are.... comfortable

The next topic we are facing in our quest to figure out why we often don't live up to our God-given potential is the dreaded comfort zone.

Why is it so hard for us to venture out of our comfort zones? Sure, they're comfortable... but they aren't always preferable. They aren't as exciting, and they generally don't afford us the opportunity to reach for those dreams.

The definition of Comfort Zone according to wikipedia is: operating in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk. A comfort zone is a type of mental conditioning that causes a person to create and operate in mental boundaries that are not real.

Mental boundaries that are not real.... can you imagine that we actually live our lives within mental boundaries that are not real??? And that's not out of a Christian magazine...that's wikipedia!

It went on to say that even though there is anxiety outside the comfort zone, there is an optimum zone right outside the comfort zone where the level of anxiety actually increases performance, clarity, etc. If you move beyond that optimum zone, those traits rapidly decline... but right in the zone... you're shining, baby!

Don't get me wrong. I'm not completely against comfort zones. I think there are times we need to hang out there. There are good things in our comfort zones, just as there are good things in our homes. But we all know there is a serious problem if you're afraid to ever step foot out of your house, and maybe we should look at our comfort zones the same way.

As we venture out of that familiar zone and find a new level of performance and clarity that we didn't even know existed, I'm thinking it may expand those imaginary boundaries a little bit. And next time, we can venture out a little farther yet... expand, venture, expand, venture!

And at some point I think it would click. What a waste to just stay in the house when there's so much to experience outside!