The Comfort Zone

“Venturing out of your comfort zone may be dangerous, yet you do it anyway because our ability to grow is directly proportional to an ability to entertain the uncomfortable.” ~ Twyla Tharp

I've had thoughts running through my mind for a quite while now, so this specific post has been a couple weeks in the making.

For anyone who hasn't been paying attention: I like to do things well. That sounds like a good thing, right? It can be very effective in pushing me to do my very best on tests or try my hardest to stick a stunt. Like most good things, though, it's a balancing act that I haven't quite mastered.

When did doing my best creep over the line and into perfectionism?

Perfectionism is quite tricky. I challenge you to find a perfectionist who doesn't say it is both a blessing and a curse. It is great when things need to get done, but when things don't play out EXACTLY how you planned, all hell is sure to break lose.

As you can imagine, that makes new situations tough to navigate. I don't try new activities because there is the potential that I am not going to be excellent, and I have to be excellent at everything I do. (Yes, I do realize the skewed logic.)

So where does that leave me?

That leaves me, a college sophomore without a bucket list, about fifty miles deep inside my own personal comfort zone. I have gone through the past twenty years of my life being excellent at what felt comfortable.

Comfortable is safe. Comfortable doesn't leave room for failure.

God isn't in the comfort zone though.  I don't need assistance in learning a task, I don't need light to guide my path. Within the comfort zone I completely self sufficient, and when I am excellent at everything, I lean on God for nothing.

And so, thus begins the journey out of my comfort zone.

God did not intend for us to dwell inside of our comfort zones. He knew they bred self-sufficient perfectionists and that is not where any of us belong. Joshua 1:9 says it perfectly. "I've commanded you to be brave and strong haven't I? Don't be alarmed or terrified, because the Lord your God is with you wherever you go."

He has commanded me to be brave and strong in him.  He wants to be there, He wants me to lean on Him in my times of uncertainty. He wants me to ask questions and wonder why. He wants a relationship, and that is not something that can happen if I confine myself to my comfort zone.

Stepping outside is probably going to be uncomfortable. It is going to be messy and unpredictable, but that is life: messy and unpredictable. Who knows what could be waiting on the other side. There are countless undiscovered hobbies and untapped opportunities that only require I take the first step.

As the quote goes, "Life starts where your comfort zone ends."

xoxo,
jkd