Hey!
I’m back with some musings for your morning – today we’re going to be talking about The Comfort Zone Killer. Why? Because there’s no time like the present to check yourself. By staying in your comfort zone and being too fearful to try something different, you are getting left behind, whether you know it or not.

Most of the time I take my blog post inspiration from my surroundings or requests. But I wasn’t sure what to write my first post of the New Year on. I scrolled through my site and looked at how I started off last year. I thought I was set on doing something similar. My first post of 2017 My Friends Don’t Support Me, is still my highest viewed and most commented on post to date and I’m very proud of it. So naturally I wanted to start 2018 off just like that, with a bang. As I sat down to draft a post on a similar topic I had to check myself. Wunms, it’s a New Year but you’re still trying out the same old things… why?
The simple answer is that I’m too comfortable. Comfortable writing about the same stuff, comfortable recycling the same formula, comfortable being exactly where I am. And it’s completely understandable, in many areas of life we all get too comfortable. If you’re reading this and thinking “me too” well, you’re not alone. A lot of us have this idea that within comfort there is safety… so if you ever decide to step outside of your bubble of “comfortability” you’re effectively entering a danger zone!

I am someone who dislikes uncertainty. I can admit that I prefer to know what’s going to happen and when I feel like things are out of my control, sometimes it makes me worry. This is funny because as a Christian, I know better (after all, I can plan and plan and plan all I like, but who has the final say!? God does. Proverbs 16:9). But I’m learning to do better, and “better” resides outside of my comfort zone. In a zone where I am able to test my faith and trust solely in God rather than placing false confidence in my own limited abilities.
So why should you and I embrace being outside of our comfort zones more and not be fearful of what awaits us in the sphere of “the unknown”?

• Because comfort breeds laziness – When you’re comfortable i.e. you don’t feel challenged in any way, you subconsciously stop trying hard or even trying your best, because you don’t feel a need to. I’m generalising, but if you’re honest with yourself you’ll probably agree that when you’re comfortable.. too comfortable.. you become lazy. Where is the bar set that you’re trying to reach? If you’ve already surpassed it, then that’s amazing, well done! But why not raise it higher?

Lazy hands make for poverty, but diligent hands bring wealth – Proverbs 10:4

• Because God didn’t call you to be “comfortable” – Rather, God has called us to be excellent and to do everything to the best of our ability for His glory. Therefore no matter what we’re doing in life, whether people view it as a “big deal” or it’s a menial task, whether we’re the CEO or the caretaker, it is all for the glory of God. Do it with all your might, look for new ways to be more efficient, educate yourself about the subject area and teach others. Master one thing and then move onto the next. Do you catch my drift? There is little room for “comfortability” (read: complacency) in the pursuit of the spirit of excellence.

Work willingly at whatever you do, as though you were working for the Lord rather than for people. – Colossians 3:23

• Just because it isn’t broken doesn’t mean you can’t improve it – There’s always room for improvement because nobody is a perfect, faultless, finished product. You will struggle to grow if you can’t look inwardly (and outwardly) at yourself and identify areas for improvement. Even when you appear to be doing just fine to onlookers, there is still room for improvement. Where do you lack? Where do you overcompensate? Now is the time to dig deep.

What are your thoughts on being outside of your comfort zone? Do you naturally embrace the opportunity or are you learning to warm to it like me? Let me know your thoughts in the comments down below  

These trials will show that your faith is genuine. It is being tested as fire tests and purifies gold—though your faith is far more precious than mere gold. So when your faith remains strong through many trials, it will bring you much praise and glory and honor on the day when Jesus Christ is revealed to the whole world. – 1 Peter 1:7

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