It is human nature to want to seek comfort. We find comfort in our daily routines, relationships, and the way our life is. Our comfort zone can be a beautiful place. The only problem is, nothing ever grows there.
When I look back a significant times of growth in my life, they all happened outside of my comfort zone. That uncertain place is where the real magic happens.
When it comes to personal growth and success, excuses for why you didn’t go after it will always be there. But opportunity won’t.
The main reason why we choose comfort over growth is fear. Fear of failure. Fear of the unknown. But we confuse fear with danger. Let’s look at what they both mean.
Danger: The possibility of suffering harm or injury. A person or thing that is likely to cause harm or injury.
Fear: A strong, uncontrollable, unpleasant emotion caused by actual or perceived danger or threat.
Notice that danger is an action – something that presents a very serious potential outcome of harm. This could be an action you take, or another person takes against you, or just simply being in a situation that is dangerous.
Fear is not an action. It’s an emotion. It is a feeling about something that has yet to happen. Its intensity is so powerful that it can impair and skew our judgment when determining what is truly a threat.
80% of our choices are based on fear. Often times we don’t really choose what we want – we choose what we think is the safest. And that makes sense. One of the biggest human needs is a sense of certainty. But what if we trained our minds to see uncertainty as an ally? Perhaps it is really an opportunity for us to get closer to our dreams.
To overcome fear, you have to change how you look at uncertainty. In a previous post, I wrote about steps you can take to overcome feelings of uncertainty. You can check it out here.
