Let’s talk about comfort zones tonight. You hear all the time how your biggest accomplishments and dreams are outside of your place of familiarity and how you need to push yourself beyond any fears or doubts in order to achieve what you truly want. Aside from sounding like something straight off of the quotes section on Pinterest, I honestly couldn’t agree more. There are so many ways that we can get comfortable and “stable” with what we have and what we do. For some, this is totally fine, and they are completely content with how their lives are. For others, on the more extreme end of the scale, busting out of their comfort zones happens on a daily basis. A lot of times people get stuck and they start to get either run down or questioning their choices in life. They start to feel too routine and the thought of any changes brings about fear and uncertainty. Unfortunately this is all too common and no matter what, everyone feels this at one point or another in their lives. It comes with so many different territories, it can happen to students graduating, someone taking on a new job, anyone who has ever moved, becoming a parent, or even trying something different as a hobby. Being fearful is never fun, but being scared to try new things is a much harsher fate. It’s something that can hinder you in so many ways and I feel like in order to grow and learn more about yourself you have to at least take a walk outside of that comfort zone you hold onto so dearly.
Now to explain why I chose this topic. Recently, I stepped majorly outside of my own comfort zone and this may not seem like a big deal to most, but for me it was. I took a weekend completely to myself, did some travelling all alone while my parents took Casey camping. Now it was a big step for me on two levels: one being that I was going to be so far away from my boy (because Mom guilt is a real thing) and two being that I was going on this adventure completely alone, something I have never done before. Cue Captain Obvious here, I was apprehensive because I WAS DOING SOMETHING NEW. Why are we like this?! I mean, I wasn’t totally fearful, it was actually all pretty exciting/nerve wracking, but it’s so funny how our first instinct is to be scared of the unknown. This year has brought a lot of experiences for me where I have had to deal with a lot of new things as well as my old friend, the great unknown. So I felt like I could tackle leaving my space of comfort fairly well. I mean, I’m 25, I’m an adult, I’ve travelled before, so how bad could it be?
Turns out it wasn’t bad at all. Turns out it was one of the best things I’ve ever done for myself. All you moms out there will agree with me when I say that we get very little time to ourselves, no matter how old our children are. It starts to become a thing of the past and at the end of the day you dream of having a moment to yourself, only to be reminded that you have a million things to get done before your ray of sunshine wakes up. So this was kind of my reasoning behind taking a weekend to myself and doing things solely for me. Call me selfish, but you gotta keep your sanity somehow. I enjoyed wine, a hot bath, a good book (Daring Greatly by Brene Brown — get it!), as much Starbucks as I could handle, a very relaxing massage and lots of leisurely walking and browsing, because that doesn’t happen with a kid anymore. I did a bit of shopping for myself (gasp!), took in an outdoor Farmer’s Market and listened to live bands throughout a park. It was pretty wonderful to say the least. After getting home and realizing how good of a weekend it was, I couldn’t have been happier with myself for taking the step and doing something different. It was crazy how many people I had talked to who said they had never done anything like that before. Being alone seems so taboo to so many, but I think it is so crucial to how we evolve and get to know ourselves better. This year has definitely opened my eyes as to how a comfort zone can actually stop your personal growth and clarity, so it has become one of my main focuses as to how I can better myself by overstepping that line of comfort and seeing what’s on the other side.
Starbucks is a Mom’s best friend
Spa time!
And another shot of me sitting, because picture taking isn’t as easy when you’re alone
Of course, being a Mom has my mind racing at all hours of the day and this totally correlates back to how I want to parent and raise Casey. I want him to see that you can do things alone and still enjoy yourself, and at some point you need to attempt something that scares you a bit, because more times than not the outcome will be greater than you ever imagined. It saddens me to see people settle and create bubbles around themselves, people who never imagine leaving their comfortable, little world. People can put so many limitations on themselves and I would hate to see my son grow up that way. Change can be a welcomed blessing and I think a lot of us need to realize that sometimes. Comfort zones bring steady, familiar experiences, ones that we know far too well and are never very exciting. I have decided that just isn’t for me and I wish to live a life with a little more spark and creativity than what is so commonly followed. So for now, I will try to take more chances, dive into various experiences and live just a little more boldly than normal. Here’s hoping you do the same!