Your comfort zone is like an easy chair full of cockroaches. It may feel good now, but there’s something disturbing squirming underneath.
They call it the comfort zone, but it’s not really all that comfortable in the true sense of the word. Staying in a relationship because it’s comfortable is never a good thing. And living a life just for comfort’s sake can be even worse.
Being successful is about challenging yourself and the norm. It often involves risk, preferably calculated risk, and can sometimes lead to disappointment.
But no one ever fulfilled their dreams sitting in their comfort zone.
The first time I said to someone that their “comfort zone was like an easy chair full of cockroaches,” it lead to a heated discussion, and ended with her storming off. It later lead to her leaving the “body-shop” where she was constantly “placed” as a tech writer, to pursue her dream of being a true freelance writer and working on her novel. She knew what I said was true, which sparked her anger – not at me, but at herself. I was just fortunate enough to be in the blast zone.
You’ll never know what you can do unless you push yourself. Get out of your comfort zone – tiptoe slowly if necessary, jump like your life depended on it if possible.
Regret is like the creepy crawlies wriggling underneath our bland daily life. Don’t let it break out and overtake you.
Get up from your regret filled easy chair and follow your dreams. It may not be comfortable, but it will be fun. I can guarantee that.
Great post and great headline!
The funny thing is – one thing we all have in common is our desire to be successful.
The first question I often ask when I’m speaking to a group is: “who wants to be successful?”
Naturally, every hand in the room goes up without hesitation.
People don’t even have to think about it.
“Of course I want to be successful, what a stupid question.”
I then tell them that they have five minutes to write down what “success” is.
More often than not, the majority will sit there for the most (if not, all) of the allocated time staring blankly at the page, not knowing where to start, or what to write.
“What do you want us to write”, they ask.
“You said you want to be successful, write down what that (success) is”, I tell them.
Because, they have never really defined success (for their own life) I experience a range of reactions. Some people get defensive and grumpy, some people get critical (“this is stupid”), some get embarrassed and some have a revelation; they get it.
Yes, they want ‘different’ and ‘better’ and ‘more’ but they don’t actually know what that is.
Keep up the great work!
Craig – Thanks for the kind words and for sharing a great story. You hit on an important point there. It’s hard – if not impossible – to achieve something if you don’t have a clear idea of what you are after.
I often stress that knowing “how” is not important, but knowing “what” is. You don’t have to have a clear picture of how you’re going to reach your goals, but you do have to have clarity on what that achievement will mean to you. Otherwise, how will you know when you get there?
I love the visual you paint with this one. Cockroaches! The comfort zone can be quite the jerk. I wrote a post on my blog a while back about the comfort zone and my frustrations with it as a professional speaker. The world could be so much better if everybody was living their dreams. Too bad that stupid comfort zone keeps getting in the way…
http://kimandjason.com/blog/2005-03-18/the-problem-with-speaking.html
Jason – Great article, thanks for sharing it.
I used to think that some people are just fine watching life from the sidelines, complacent in lives without any real risk or adventure. But I’ve come to realize that’s not the case. Some people just haven’t had the experience of going after their dreams.
Once they get a taste, most won’t go back to the unfulfilled life. The first leap is the hardest, but the one that defines your life from that point on.
It goes without saying that your message is provocative! As an English major in college (1 of 2 majors), I love your BRILLIANT simile – “Your comfort zone is like an easy chair full of cockroaches.” Now that simile will stick in my mind, coming back to chafe me when I get too comfortable.
That’s the idea, create images to inspire, and maybe sometimes repulse. That works well, too 🙂
Besides, it’s a fun word to say… simile.
Well, the cockroaches got a little too squirmy today and made me jump! A little bump in my blogging day made for a very good opportunity for learning and I thought of this post once all the dust had settled.
Hi Char – Glad to see you’re back up and running. Your feed just showed up in my reader a little while ago, and I read about your WP weirdness. I had a crazy thing with my HTACCESS a while back that caused something similar.
I like your attitude on it though – “Sure, it was a bit inconvenient, but what I gained in the end was worth so much more.” Great way to look at it.