This past weekend two of our counselors at Foundations Counseling had the opportunity to be taken completely out of their comfort zones when they attended a silent meditation retreat. Despite feeling challenged and uncomfortable being involved in such an unfamiliar experience, they learned a great deal from their experience.
As humans we naturally try to create more comfortable vs. uncomfortable experiences for ourselves, but if we are always comfortable how do we learn and grow? If we know what to expect, have mastered a skill, are familiar with whatever it is that we are doing how will we be challenged to work through learning a new skill or doing something different with our lives?
The truth of the matter is that taking ourselves out of our comfort zone from time to time will likely be uncomfortable and that is OK! The more we learn how to work through difficult thoughts and feelings that can be associated with being in a situation that doesn’t quite fit us 100% the more we will grow and thrive.
So the next time you are inclined to ‘play it safe’ and ‘stick to what you know’, see if there is a way you can find a way to sit with the discomfort a new experience can bring and take yourself out of your personal comfort zone and perhaps see something, do something or learn about something you might not otherwise have experienced!