Magic Happens Outside Your Comfort Zone

Guest post by Rachel Peters -

When was the last time you consciously decided to learn something new? A new language, skill, sport, or hobby?

I watch my almost five-year-old and his friends live in a constant state of curiosity and learning. It's got me thinking about how hard it is for some of us to do that. Most of us live in some sort of "comfort zone" in one or more areas of our life.

Maybe it's that subtle low backache, weird thing going on with your shoulder, bloating, digestive issue you can't quite figure out, random sleep patterns, cycles of procrastination, or playing small in your work life.

You tell yourself "things really aren't that bad" and talk yourself into staying in the comfort zone, because they are predictable. Or you tell yourself, you're not "ready" to take the Spanish class or plan that trip you've always dreamed of, or deal with a nagging health issue because it can be downright scary to venture to "the edge". WHY? It's uncomfortable and scary to do things differently. What will happen? Will I actually feel better? Will I have more fun?

There is less control OUT there.

What may feel like a huge leap into the unknown, can actually be a small step towards navigating minor discomfort that leads to something magical. Whether it's a few minutes of yoga, having the difficult conversation, getting out the door for your morning walk when you'd rather curl up with a cup of tea.

And when we do make small changes, close our eyes and tiptoe versus jump into the unknown, the comfort zone slowly EXPANDS. The cool thing is, so do we and this is where the magic happens.