When you think about it, a Comfort Zone ought to be hard to break through—after all, we have spent so much time building it. A Comfort Zone is our cozy quilt of relationships. It’s the padding of routines that make us feel good. It’s the security fence of acceptable behavior. It’s the steel mesh of our past successes and failures.
Our Comfort Zone completely surrounds our life in Familiar, and it feels comfortable. Inside our Comfort Zone, we feel safe. We’re pretty sure we can succeed, look good, and feel happy there.
Outside, well, who knows? Outside everyone’s Comfort Zone lies the great Unknown. That’s why we don’t want to go there. Now, there’s nothing wrong with a Comfort Zone. After all, no one likes danger and uncertainty. No one signs up for discomfort.
Yet a Comfort Zone can become a barrier, too. Why? Because our vision always lies outside our Comfort Zone. That means we will have to leave what feels comfortable if we want to achieve our Dream. We face a choice: we could either feel comfort but give up our vision, or feel fear and pursue it.
You might think that if only you were braver or stronger, you wouldn’t have to struggle so much with that choice. But every visionary does, no matter how talented or brave.
----Bruce Wilkinson
