Get Into Your Discomfort Zone

ILLUSTRATION BY VICTORIA FERNANDEZ

What is something that you want to change? Do you want to stop an unhealthy behavior, or maybe form a healthy habit? Maybe you want to stop gambling, start flossing, or make better eating choices.

What would it take to make that change? It takes motivation, willpower, willingness. We need to want the result of that change more than we want the feeling of comfort that lies in the familiar.

In my office, I have a sign that reads, “Life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. I like the sign; it is pithy and powerful, though perhaps inaptly worded: Life itself does not require getting out of our comfort zone. We can live within the confines of our comforts, never straying, never straining ourselves. I’ll bet you know some people like that. And maybe you can even see that in yourself. Because often, life lived solely in our comfort zone can become increasingly uncomfortable. Choices made with short-term comfort in mind may leave us anxious, low on funds, or in need of some painful dental work.

Clearly, living life does not require actively moving out of our comfort zone. In other words, it is possible to live and not change. Growth, however, does require getting out of our comfort zone. In order to effect real change, we must go through a period of discomfort. There is no other way about it.

And so, when you find yourself ready, when the motivation, willpower, and willingness come, recognize one thing: change is uncomfortable. It is hard. There will be times when you question the way you have chosen. You may think it is not just hard, but too hard, too much, too difficult an undertaking. It is then you can remind yourself that this discomfort means you are at the end of your comfort zone. Your life, your true life, has just begun. You are exactly where you need to be in order to change. It is uncomfortable. It is the only way. And it’s worth it.