Get Up Off The Couch, Out Of Your Comfort Zone
Imagine that I walk into your house, with a box of matches and a can of gasoline, and I say to you: “Burn your sofa.” Yes, that same old sofa, worn around the edges, discolored and creaks every time you sit down, but it is sooooo comfortable because it is, precisely, the “traditional” sofa.
Maybe you would say to me: “You are insane. This is the best sofa in the world ”. I would believe you if, mathematically and rigorously, you have already sat on all the sofas on the planet, without exception. I bet you haven’t. You think that sofa is the best in the world because it is the one you know.
So it is with the comfort zone. The term has caught on and is invoked every two-thirds when, in the middle of your office coffee chat, someone mentions that it’s time to step out of your comfort zone and take a vacation to an exotic location.
That is partially true. A vacation in an exotic place is a change, without a doubt, but it is nothing more than a learning zone if, after a week of new experiences, you return to your usual routine and nothing changes substantially.
Leaving your comfort zone can only be achieved when you face your fears : starting your own business, ending a relationship that no longer works, or buying a home.
Since childhood, they teach us that the only way is to accept your destiny: “Stay with the sofa you know: that was the one that touched you and you should be satisfied, when there are much worse sofas.” “If you leave that sofa, someone else will come and take it away, don’t move!” “It doesn’t matter if it’s not the best sofa: at least it’s a sofa!” You can exchange the word “sofa” for any object or situation in your comfort zone that you would like to see improved, but that you are afraid to change. This is how we have been educated: to walk the safe line. There are many phrases that support it, to continue with the litany of conformity: “Better known bad than good to know”, “Better a bird in hand than a hundred flying”, or the simplest and most drawer: “Life is like this” .
No: not only because it is like that, it must always be like that. Most of the people who tell you that everything will go wrong if you get up from that sofa is because they themselves have not tried: they are afraid and justify themselves with many excuses and horror stories so that you do not try either. Don’t blame them: it’s what they have been taught to be safe and they want to protect you.
It is entirely up to you to get out of your comfort zone and try what you really want. You don’t always have it, it’s always guaranteed. Stay there on the couch and the answer will still be no. So what do you lose by going for the yes?
You have nothing to lose. On the contrary: by going for the yes, you learn more along the way and, when you look back, you will realize that your comfort zone has not even been lost, but rather that it has been expanded and that you feel comfortable in new areas, because your world has gotten bigger.
In other words, you will not only have that old sofa, but many more to sit on. Go for them!
Read more about this topic here.
Or watch this video so you can understand it more graphically in:
