“So there are two ways to live: you can devote your life to staying in your comfort zone, or you can work on your freedom.” – Michael A. Singer
Most of you have heard the saying, ‘Life begins outside of your comfort zone.‘ It shows up on Facebook pages and Instagram. We hit ‘like’ and share this quote with others. Most of you believe this statement is true.
But what are you really doing about it?
Are you actively working to get outside your comfort zone? Do you even know what your comfort zone is?
Michael Singer, author of the amazing book ‘The Untethered Soul,’ describes the comfort zone as a caged tiger at a zoo. Imagine watching this tiger, living in a very tiny cage. Now imagine that you are inside this cage (without the tiger!) How does that feel? Terrifying? Constricting?
The reality is that your comfort zone is a cage, just like this one. And your cage doesn’t only limit your body; it also limits your consciousness. Because you are unable to go outside your comfort zone, you are literally locked in confinement. And, even if the cage door were left open, you wouldn’t leave it. Why? Because you are afraid. Your comfort zone is familiar to you; outside is the unknown. Your cage provides protection from the fear of the unknown. You love the cage, and you spend tremendous amounts of energy keeping yourself in the cage.
How do you know that you love your cage? When things happen that make you uncomfortable, you do whatever you can to protect yourself and get back to a feeling of safety.
This is your comfort zone. Your fears are the bars. It might be the fear of other people’s opinions, or jealousy, or insecurity. It might be the fear of failing, or succeeding. Maybe your afraid of judgement, or ridicule. Or disappointment. Whatever your afraid of, and avoiding, those are the edges of your comfort zone. When you bump up against these edges, you retreat back into your cage.
Your comfort zone keeps you small. There’s not much room to maneuver in there. Not much space to grow, explore, experiment, and expand. Even if your comfort zone feels terrible to you – depressing, miserable, fearful, lonely – which most of them do, it is familiar to you, and therefore you choose to stay there. Many of you don’t even realize you are in a cage. It is your normal.
Then you begin to wake up. Your awareness increases, and you begin to see your cage. Once you can see it, you start to experience how limiting it is. You’re constantly bumping up against it’s edges, constantly retreating and hiding. You become frustrated with the cage, and you see how small you need to be to fit inside it. Your consciousness begins to yearn for more.
Once you’re awake to your comfort zone, you see that you are faced with countless choices every day, to either stay inside it or venture out. This is the work of growth. Every minute of every day, be willing to choose to step outside the cage and into discomfort.
This is where the real magic starts to happen. When you feel the fear and do it anyways, you will begin to see that it’s not that scary after all. You will feel yourself grow as the boundaries of your comfort zone grow.
Sounds great, right?
Here’s the deal, though.
This isn’t for sissies. Getting out of your comfort zone is…..uncomfortable. It’s scary, and vulnerable, and can make you want to hurl.
That’s the whole point.
That’s why not everyone is doing it.
It takes guts to put yourself out there every damn day. To purpose to make yourself uncomfortable. To smash the bars of your cage.Most people live their entire lives in the cage of their comfort zone, watching life pass them by. Are you one of them?
Or are you one of the brave few, who want freedom so badly – for your body, your mind, and your soul – that you are willing to do anything to get it?
If you are, then you are in the right place. My job as a Coach is to get you outside your comfort zone and keep you there. You will see yourself grow in ways you never imagined, and in a year or so, you won’t even recognize yourself.
It takes hard work. Daily practice. It requires you to stop bullshitting yourself and come out of denial. It requires great courage and perseverance.
And it’s all there, inside of you, just waiting. Waiting for you to choose to smash the bars of your cage and step into freedom.
