This image is particularly funny to me. Scott can attest to this, but my ‘comfort zone’ is quite literally my bed. I love to sleep. I love to be cozy. I especially love to curl up under a warm, fuzzy blanket that I’ve tucked under my sheets, so no part of me has to feel the cold sheets. I get giddy and excited like a little kid on Christmas morning when I get to take a nap.
Sleep is a good thing.
We all need it. In fact, most of us need to get more of it. But to state the obvious, most things that make life worthwhile and interesting are not happening while I’m asleep in my bed. Even the act of writing this blog, requires that I get up in the dark, long before everyone else, while the house is still quiet to face the keyboard. Then on Saturday mornings while the rest of the family is up roaring with gusto and I’m still nestled under the covers, if I can hear them, I get FOMO.
I get FOMO because I’m keenly aware that the things that make life worthwhile are all happening outside of my ‘comfort zone’.
Making eye contact and saying hello to a stranger. Asking the family to try to a new Thanksgiving tradition they’ve never heard of. Accepting a 21 day, deep and personally reflective, writing challenge with 3 women I barely knew. Quitting my hard-fought, stable, and lucrative sales job to start a company with the sole purpose of encouraging women. Creating a new kind of Girl’s Night Out that no one has ever tried before.
Asking women to join us, month after month.
These are all things that are uncomfortable for me. But I do them because I can see inside that other circle. I know that’s where life is. That’s where we find meaning, purpose, connection and joy. It’s all outside our little safe bubble of comfort.
It turns out, we can survive discomfort.
In fact, at its core, it’s the essence of growth. We do more than survive there. That’s where we thrive.
So pay attention today, notice when you’re outside your little comfort zone. And stay there. Don’t hightail it back to safety. Sit with the discomfort. Maybe even tiptoe a little closer to get a better view.
We need you to be courageous.
And maybe even a little bit uncomfortable.
to more love,
Crystal
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