Where's Your Comfort Zone?

When was the last time you stepped outside of your comfort zone and felt truly vulnerable? Does it happen often for you, do you pursue this sort of thing, or are you struggling to remember?

While you think about that, let me tell you a quick story.

In January this year, I couldn’t remember the last time I’d willingly left the safe confines of my comfort zone. Why was I thinking about this when I was on that delightful campervan trip that I wrote about in my last blog?

Well, we had stopped in a small Otago town in the South Island as we’d seen that there was a hill you could climb giving you panoramic views of the area. If there’s anything that we love, it’s a panoramic view, so of course we wanted to check it out.

Although the initial climb was steep and had our lungs burning, it got off to a great start. It was a beautiful day, if a little breezy, so the perfect weather for a good view. The only problem was that the path to the top wasn’t particularly clear. So instead of taking the nice easy path to the summit, we accidentally took what can only be described as a track suitable for goats.

This route was nearly vertical, it was full of loose rocks, my shoes didn’t have great grip, and that breeze I mentioned earlier? It got stronger and stronger the higher we climbed. I felt quite exposed, and I really wasn’t enjoying myself, especially when I thought about the fact I’d have to clamber back down the same way! I was well and truly out of my lovely little comfort zone.

I made it to the top safe and sound, of course, and felt more than a bit silly when I got there for feeling so vulnerable on that climb up. The view was more spectacular than we’d hoped, and when it came time to descend we had discovered the more sensible path, to my relief.

And so, it was as we walked back down this hill that I reflected on that climb and how vulnerable it made me feel. What became clear to me is that I only felt that way because I hadn’t been stepping out of my comfort zone enough. There is a version of me that, in the past, would have scrambled up that path without thinking twice, enjoying it as she went, probably having willingly chosen the more challenging route. But that version wasn’t there that day. Without realising it I’d forgotten to keep stepping out of my comfort zone, to push myself and to grow.

I believe Neale Donald Walsch had a point when he said that “life begins at the end of your comfort zone”. Leaving your comfort zone opens you up to a world of new experiences and opportunities. You become stronger and more resilient as you learn and grow.

Which brings me to the first of two reasons I have written this blog.

This is me finding another way to step out of my comfort zone and be a little vulnerable.

Sharing an honest piece of writing like this is not something I’ve really done before. But as we walked down from that hill I made a promise to myself to leave my comfort zone a little more and be more vulnerable.

The second reason I published this piece is to share with you what that experience taught me, and to ask you the question: what can you do today, this week, or this month to step outside your comfort zone, shed that complacency and get a little vulnerable?

“Vulnerability is the birthplace of innovation, creativity and change.” – Brené Brown

That’s all for now,

Jordyn x

P.S. If leaving comfort zones and being vulnerable is something that really interests you, I highly recommend checking out the popular TED Talk by Brené Brown. It’s entitled “The Power of Vulnerability” and it’s brilliant.