Many people ask the question “Why is it so hard to get out of my comfort zone and how can I do it?”

The answer I have for you today comes from my personal experience.

On my journey towards awakening, I always felt afraid to get out of my comfort zone but I did it anyway and, hopefully, I will continue to do it!

It’s really scary to leave what you know behind so as to pursue the “unknown”. The unknown seems so dangerous. Anything can happen. The key word here is “anything”. The word anything is a neutral word. It can imply “good” and “bad” things alike. But the ego interprets “anything” as something bad and the ego creates F.E.A.R.

What is F.E.A.R.?

F = False

E = Evidence

A = Appearing

R = Real

The ego provokes overthinking and imaginary dangers and dead-ends. So, the ego would rather have you suffer so it can feel comfortable in situations that are familiar to it; hence the saying:

It’s better the devil you know. 

The ego prefers the “devil” no matter what that word might represent (an abusive relationship, a dead-end job, painful inaction etc) to the unknown. 

This is why it is difficult for many people to get out of their comfort zone. 

Every time I get out of my comfort zone, I do it because my reality has become even scarier than the unknown. I choose the unknown when I cannot fathom living another day in the same situation.

I suffer so much in my everyday life that I would rather “risk it all” than stay where I am. Actually, it’s is the ego that whispers to my mind “You can’t risk it all!” but, as a matter of fact, when my reality is really bad, I have nothing to lose!

The tricky part is to bypass the voice of my ego and listen to the voice of my higher/inner self. It takes courage, especially the first few times. It is a leap of faith. 

I have done it quite a few times in my life but, if I want to be accurate, I should say “So far, I have been forced to do do it quite a few times.”

Whenever I stray from my path or my life mission, things in life start to become painful. This happens so that I am forced to move on. Similarly, if I have learnt everything there is to know from an experience, I will once again be “forced” to move on one way ore another. 

I used to see “suffering” as pure suffering. I wallowed in self pity and thought “Why me?” or “Why?”. I see suffering quite differently now. Suffering is my ally! Suffering is my “informant”. Suffering is the red flag that tells me that I need to get out of my comfort zone so things are good again.

In the past I used to be so “stubborn” and set in my ways doing what my “conditioning” and my “logic” dictated, that the only way for me to get out of my comfort zone was a really hard kick in the butt (excuse my language but that was exactly what happened and what I needed to move forward). I would develop a serious health problem that would shake me up (and scare me) enough to move on.

Fortunately, I listen to my inner voice more and, more and the more I listen, the more I have faith in the universe and in the grand scheme of things. I don’t need to be shaken to the core any more to get out of my comfort zone. When I start feeling discomfort, I start to question my “comfort zone” and eventually I move forward.

The universe has its way of showing us it is time to move on and get out of our comfort zone. All we have to do is listen and just do it!

Photo by Coen Staal on Unsplash