Kiss Your Comfort Zone Goodbye!

Today, my sister forwarded me this quote.

"I used to have a Comfort Zone…where I knew I could not fail… The same four walls and busy work…were really more like jail… I longed so much, to do the things…I’d never done before… But, I stayed inside my Comfort Zone…and paced the same old floor...

I said it didn’t matter…that I wasn’t doing much… I said I didn’t care for things…like diamonds…cars…and such I claimed to be so busy...with the things inside my zone... But, deep inside…I longed for…some victory of my own.

I couldn’t let my life go by…just watching others wine! I held my breath…and stepped outside…to let the change begin… I took a step…and with strength, I’d never felt before… I kissed my Comfort Zone good-bye…and closed and locked the door.

If you are in a Comfort Zone…afraid to venture out…Remember that all winners, at one time were filled with doubt. A step or two, and words of praise, can make your dreams come true… So, greet your future with a smile…Success is there for you."

... Author Unknown

To me, this is a very powerful quote. So many women spend their lives living within their “comfort zone”. They are comfortable and complacent to spend day after day doing laundry, cleaning the kitchen, vacuuming the floors, working at their same old boring jobs, visiting the same old boring restaurants, getting their hair cut the same way, buying the same groceries, cooking the same meals, wearing the same styles, visiting with the same old friends, week after boring week.

And all the while, they complain. The laundry is never caught up. I wish we could afford a housekeeper. My boss is so difficult. Walmart raised their grocery prices! There is never anything to do in this city. My clothes are so plain. I hate my hair. Can my hips get any bigger?!

Then, they make excuses. My husband never helps me. The children take up so much time. Moms don’t have time to exercise. We could never afford that dress. I can’t quit my job because my family needs the benefits. How could we possibly take a vacation without the children? These are hard economic times.

Next, they criticize – they criticize the women who are living outside of their comfort zones. Can you believe Jane would spend that much money on shoes? Gayle doesn’t even clean her own house…she pays someone else to do it. Susan is not a very involved parent – she never attends PTA meetings. What an extravagant hair cut that woman has! The Jones’ vacation cost a small fortune – so much for planning for their children’s college education.

And so, they waste their lives away, living inside their “comfort zone”.

Please understand that I am, by no means, saying that being a reliable, involved mother, or having a long-standing, steady job, is wasting your life away. That is not what I mean at all. I am talking about women who are settling. They are settling for a loveless marriage, settling for a boring job, settling for a modest, but steady income, settling.

At what point do we, as women, give up on our hopes and dreams to live a life of comfort and complacency? It happens to all of us at some point in our lives. We stop trying. We stop striving to do better, to be better.

I have always been a go-getter. If I set my mind to do something, I would achieve it. Life has dealt me many challenges, but I have somehow always managed to make it through and come out smelling like a rose. I have worked very hard, for a very long time, to elevate my life to the place where it is today. So why is it, that just when I feel like I’m “settling” comfortably into my life, do warning sirens seem to flash in my head saying, “There is more to life than this! You can do more, be more!”

Maybe it’s because I am a dreamer. Maybe it is because I am a perfectionist. Maybe it is because I have very high standards. Whatever the reason may be, I can’t allow myself to live comfortably and complacently inside my safety zone. I am meant to do more, be more, achieve more. By virtue of being a wife and mother, I do not have to automatically settle for what appears to be, to the average bystander, as being a “good life”. I want a great life. I will have an extraordinary life.