Your comfort zone is a situation in which you feel comfortable and you don’t have to do anything new or difficult. We all have a comfort zone, but it’s essential to step outside it, challenge yourself, and deal with life in order to grow, transition, and transform. Stepping outside of your comfort zone is key to discovering your passion, accomplishing your goals, and finding happiness.
In this article, I want to share with you 5 signs that you might be stuck in your comfort zone.
Safe but Dangerous Place
You may think that your comfort zone is not a bad place to be, right? I mean, you’re comfortable, so you must be happy?
If only it worked out that way. Unfortunately, the longer you stay within your comfort zone, the less happy you tend to be.
When we are stuck in our comfort zone, we’re willing to stay in a situation that doesn’t make us happy, for fear that the discomfort we’ll feel by stepping outside of our current circumstances will be greater than the discontent we feel now, however unfulfilled we are.
I see a comfort zone as some kind of energy swamp. You may feel like it’s a nice and warm place but in fact, you’re drowning deeper and deeper in that swamp. Very soon you won’t be able to see or hear anything new and exciting, you will stop feeling happiness and joy. The trick with an energy swamp is you’re drowning slowly but surely. And the more comfortable you feel in there the harder it will be to get out. In order to get out of that swamp, you have to start moving!
We all need to learn how to catch the moment when we start drowning in order to start acting. The signs below will help you to diagnose your current situation and so you can begin moving out of your comfort zone.
5 Signs That You Got Stuck In Your Comfort Zone
1. You Don’t Study
If you think that the time to study has passed when you graduated from school or college then you are definitely in the comfort zone. You have difficulty and reluctance to understand new information especially if it seems complicated or unfamiliar. You have no desire to spend your time and energy on educating yourself on something you don’t understand. You often feel skeptical of unusual and fresh ideas.
If you want to become the person who controls his/her life and creates his/her reality around him you need to make studying a part of your daily routine. Just pick the subject you are curious about but you always felt like it’s too complicated and start learning about it a little bit every day. You can choose a foreign language and start learning five words of phrases every day. Or you can sign for a course. It will boost your intellect, train your memory and will push you out of your comfort zone.
2. You Live the Same Day Over And Over Again
“Don’t live the same day over and over again and call that a life. Life is about evolving mentally, spiritually, and emotionally.” ― Germany Kent
Do you feel like your today does not differ from yesterday, and your tomorrow will not differ from today? You either don’t believe that something can be changed or, most likely, you are afraid of a change.
If you want to make your life exciting, happy, and joyful you have to start making changes. Despite your fears and discomfort, you need to get out of the energy swamp.
You don’t have to make big changes right away. Even making one change at a time will make a difference in your life. Move slowly but surely.
Start small. For example, start making your coffee differently every morning. Don’t drink the same kind of coffee every morning. Be creative! Or take an alternative route to work. Eat at a new lunch spot. Choose something new from the menu. If you normally go to the gym every morning and work out with the weights, one day a week try to go to yoga class. In other words, come up with something new every day. Change your day up and then big changes will follow!
3. You Don’t Meet New People
If your environment hasn’t changed in recent months or even years, and you haven’t made any new friends, this is another sign that you are stuck in a comfort zone.
To push yourself out of your comfort zone start doing small things like this daily:
- initiate a small conversation with a stranger at the gym/yoga class/coffee shop;
- sit next to someone new at a meeting;
- make internet-friends with people from other countries (it’s a great way to practice the foreign language you’re learning!);
- attent social events more often;
- start traveling alone (it’s easier to make new friends when you travel alone rather than when you’re always surrounded by your old friends);
- start conversations on social media.
You can easily come up with your own different ways of meeting new people. Each day gives us plenty of opportunities for this! All we need to do is just to catch them!
4. Low Energy/ Lack of Inspiration
Staying in the comfort zone leads to a lack of goals and inspiration. You see, when our energy level decreases, the desire to create and inspiration disappears. We can’t be creative, inspired and excited about life if we don’t have enough energy.
The energy swamp acts like an energy vampire sucking the energy out of you. That’s why staying in your comfort zone is so dangerous!
It may feel like you have no energy for making any changes in your life. This may lead to the fact that you can get used to destructive conditions such as co-dependent relationships, poor living conditions, and a disdainful attitude to your health and appearance. Even if you think you want to change something you feel like you have no energy and will power for doing this.
Again, try to start small. Make an honest list of what you want to change. Do you want to get healthier? Do you want a romantic relationship that lifts you up? Do you want to be loved and respected? Start with something small! Don’t try to make major changes all at once.
If you want to get healthier, replace your chicken sandwich with a green salad, your soda with herbal tea, your movie night with work out, etc. Pick one thing at a time and turn it into a habit.
If you want to be loved and appreciated by your partner start practicing self-love. Don’t try to convince yourself that you love yourself. It doesn’t work this way. Try to do small self-rituals every day and watch what will happen!
Here are some articles that you may find helpful on your self-love journey:
5 Simple Steps To Boost Your Self-Love
Self-Love Affirmations That Really Work!!
6 Daily Self-Love Practices You Can Start Today
5. The Belief That All Your Problems Will Be Solved By Someone Else
Of course, we should always believe that the universe will take care of us and lead us in the right direction. However, if you are stuck in your comfort zone you are not willing to take the steps in the direction the Universe is trying to guide you. It may already be sending you signs, opportunities, and the shortest ways to solve your problems and fulfill your desires. But in order to receive help and guidance from the Universe, you need to be open and ready for changes.
You may think that you always pay attention to the signs from the Universe however your problems are still unsolved and you don’t understand clearly the path you need to take. You see, usually, the Universe guides us to the path that lies outside our comfort zone. And in order to see it, we need to look for it beyond our fears and doubts.