Comfort is the antagonist of success. Unless you're just handed the life you want on a silver platter, you’re going to have to roll up your sleeves, get a little dirty and expand your comfort zone to get where you want to be. Most people don’t want to hear this, and don’t bother to follow through. But most people don’t live the lives that they want. You’re different. You are going to step out of that little box where you feel safe and you are going to succeed. You just need a little push.
You are your own worst enemy. I’m sure you’ve heard the expression. "I am my own worst enemy." After all, it was an incredibly popular song in the 90s, but nothing is more true. You are the only one holding you back from doing anything. The problem lies in your comfort zone; a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk — White 2009
Most people live their entire lives in their comfort zones. It is easy. Plus it feels good. But it doesn’t breed success or greatness. If you want to reach your limits, you are going to have to learn how to break out of your comfort zone to the scary, uncertain, un-understood sector of life.
But first let's take a look at why we are so often bounded by our comfort zone and why most people will never leave them to achieve their dreams.
You are naturally inclined to stay comfortable. Your body and mind have a great, yet terrible trait of trying to protect you from so called "dangerous situations." When you see a beautiful girl you want to talk to, you may be overcome by nerves, preventing you from doing so. When you want to talk to your boss about a promotion, there is often something small inside that holds you back.
When you have to make a life changing phone call, you tend to over think it and hesitate, if calling at all. Sound familiar? Why does our body and mind hold us back from doing things that will make us successful? Are we subconsciously self-sabotaging? Or do we just not have what it takes?
Neither of these is the case. What we are feeling is completely normal and is an evolutionary response that we can overcome. You see, you are inherently equipped with a vast amount of necessary survival instincts. They protect you from touching a scalding hot pan, ensuring you look both ways before you wander into a busy street, and stop you from walking off the ledge of a 100 story building. And thankfully they are there to do so. But the problem is that they also manifest themselves in these non-life threatening situations that you only perceive as dangerous.
While recently studying body language I fell across the book, "What Every Body Is Saying," which gave me a clear understanding to this natural response. Your brain is composed of three parts, or as some say, "three brains." The reptilian brain, the mammalian (limbic) brain, and the human (neocortex) brain. The limbic brain, which we share with the animals, is responsible for your instinctive reactions and uncontrolled body responses. This includes fear. Since the dawn of time men were survivalists.
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