The Comfort Zone

Wikipedia describes the comfort zone as: "a behavioural state within which a person operates in an anxiety-neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviours to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk.[1] The comfort zone refers to the set of environments and behaviours with which somebody is comfortable, without creating a sense of risk. A person's personality can be described by his or her comfort zones. Highly successful persons may routinely step outside their comfort zones, to accomplish what they wish. A comfort zone is a type of mental conditioning that causes a person to create and operate mental boundaries. Such boundaries create an unfounded sense of security. Like inertia, a person who has established a comfort zone in a particular axis of his or her life, will tend to stay within that zone without stepping outside of it. To step outside a person's comfort zone, they must experiment with new and different behaviours, and then experience the new and different responses that then occur within their environment."

That's my dad (yellow circle) and his brother Paul, my uncle, (red circle) having a trip outside the comfort zone this past week on the Penobscot River in Maine. My dad is 66 years young and my uncle is a few more than that. I APPLAUD them and every single person who makes the effort every single day to step outside their comfort zone and try something new. It isn't easy..in fact it can be downright stressful! The older you get, the harder it is to do new things! However, there is something wonderful in saying "I did it!".

If today finds you in a new situation, new job, or someone is asking you to take a trip on the rapids, EMBRACE IT! The initial stress you feel isn't really stress at all. It is your mind's way of concentrating and focusing on learning the new things!

So slow down, breathe and KEEP MOVING! You are amazing. You are doing it! You are breaking through the comfort zone!

(PS. LOVE YOU DAD.)