Don't Let Your Dreams Be Killed in the Comfort Zone
Many of us have been fed the belief that by the time we reach age sixty-five, we "deserve" to live comfortably and function only in our comfort zone.
But consider this: the word" deserve" means just that, DE-SERVE. It rarely serves you to live in your comfort zone. On the contrary, much that is noble in the human spirit goes dormant in the comfort zone. That which inspires and vitalizes us flourishes best when we are challenged. There is nothing less valuable to inspiration than mediocrity. Comfort is the epitome of the mediocre.
A Nobel Prize was won for explaining the science of perturbation, to perturb or bother.
The theory goes that when a substance is subjected to extreme heat, it changes its character forever. It gets stronger; like a rock under fire, it becomes a diamond. To succeed in anything, you cannot stay lukewarm. If the diamond is a metaphor for your wondrous, evolving dream, you will take some heat to achieve it—don't kill it in your comfort zone.
I have met too many people at a loss for what to do after retirement.
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They understand that retirement is an opportunity of a lifetime. Retirement is a chance to have the time to craft a new life, but they are shocked at how much courage it takes to unbind oneself from the past. Even when their new life appears fresh and new, it is often only a more leisurely reflection of their old life. It is created in the comfort zone.
My friend, a psychologist, is 67 years old. She wonders if she can return to medical school and become a physician's assistant.
I reminded her that she would be seventy whether she became a PA or not, so she might as well become one.
I always wanted to travel 24/7 but was always a homeowner of big, burdensome homes.
To live the life of travel that I had longed for, I had to leave my comfort zone and own a smaller place. When I moved cross-country during COVID-19, it felt like a free fall. But that allowed me to travel as I wished, including many trips back to NYC, WHICH IS STILL IN MY BLOOD.
Since I moved out of my comfort zone, I have visited 39 countries and become deeply entrenched in improving tourism for lifelong travel. At age 77, I can't see everything in the world. But I can try.
For the best retirement you can construct, start with the belief that you deserve a lot more than a comfort zone.
Your un-comfort zone is a pathway to better health.
In Become Comfortable with the Uncomfortable: The Rewards of Leaving Our Comfort Zone, published in the National Library of Medicine, author Ellen R Shanley writes, "In any area of practice, at any level of expertise, it's common to find ourselves in what many have termed a comfort zone - a physical place or a state of mind (or both) where we feel at ease, at home … comfortable.
If we're in search of challenges, advancement, or increased fulfillment (personal or professional), it's often necessary - and often a good idea - to step out of our comfort zone".
Can you do it? What stops you from getting out of your comfort zone? Let us know. Connect with me on our Facebook Salon.
