{"id":2372,"date":"2013-08-22T10:16:56","date_gmt":"2013-08-22T17:16:56","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/redshoezone.ca\/?p=2372"},"modified":"2016-05-29T10:49:19","modified_gmt":"2016-05-29T17:49:19","slug":"comfort-zone-hideout","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ohmywordjournal.com\/redshoezone\/comfort-zone-hideout\/","title":{"rendered":"Are you in a comfort zone or hideout?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Comfort zones are those familiar, habitual places we return to over and over. They masquerade as cozy routines and habits that seem\u2026\u2026 well\u2026innocuous. \u00a0But considering we often lock the door and throw away the key when we get there you\u2019ve got to wonder about them. \u00a0While there are times in life when a comfort zone is exactly what the doctor orders a short stay might be advisable vs. taking up permanent residence.<\/p>\n

Comfort zones and how firmly we adhere to their boundaries came on my radar a year ago sparked by a pair of red shoes<\/a>. I quickly discovered I had some clearly defined zones regarding\u2026\u2026 shoes (and other things as it turned out). As far as shoes go I realized I only <\/i>wore black ones\u2026..flat ballet slips and sandals, flat boots of all kinds and high heeled feminine beauties. Yep that was it case closed. A pair of red, chunky looking, wedge type things were not going anywhere\u00a0near my feet.<\/p>\n

No sireeee!<\/p>\n

But they did.<\/p>\n

Not only that they became the catalyst for a (re)examination of life and a subsequent shake up.<\/p>\n

For some reason I had built a nice, tidy fortress around shoes. \u00a0This led me to wonder what larger zones I inhabited. I was on a mission to seek and destroy any and all.<\/p>\n

First a definition found in Wikipedia.<\/p>\n

The\u00a0comfort zone<\/b>\u00a0is a behavioral state within which a person operates in an anxiety\u00a0neutral condition, using a limited set of behaviors to deliver a steady level of performance, usually without a sense of risk\u00a0(White 2009). \u00a0A\u00a0comfort zone is<\/b>\u00a0a type of mental conditioning\u00a0\u00a0that 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.<\/i><\/p>\n

To step out of the\u00a0comfort zone<\/b>\u00a0raises the anxiety level engendering a stress response. To successfully step outside a person must experiment with new and different behaviors, and then experience the new and different responses that occur within their environment.<\/i><\/p>\n

Yikes\u2026 this did not sound like ME (or rather the ME I saw myself as or wanted to be). Especially now as I was shaping Life Part II and intending to have my greatest impact!<\/p>\n

I gamely started identifying comfort zones (routines I meticulously followed or anything I habitually did, ate, read, followed or subscribed to) and pushed through one after another consciously switching things up and replacing with NEW.\u00a0 I loved the \u2018other side\u2019 it was fresh and exciting like finding a pot of gold. I grew in awareness, understanding and ability I saw possibilities I didn\u2019t before.<\/p>\n

The quote, \u201cLife begins at the end of the comfort zone\u201d was starting to make real sense. <\/b><\/p>\n

As did the idea that the more you stay in a comfort zone the smaller life gets\u2026the more you leave the bigger it becomes. \u00a0Uh-huh\u2026 that seemed to be the case.<\/p>\n

With complete dedication to the task and over the next few months I made a comfort zone sweep of my life. Check. Comfort zones eradicated.<\/p>\n

OR so I thought until this week when a suddenly obvious comfort zone defined its parameters.<\/p>\n

NEXT\u2026\u2026Comfort zones set up camp when we\u2019re not looking.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/span>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Comfort zones are those familiar, habitual places we return to over and over. They masquerade as cozy routines and habits that seem\u2026\u2026 well\u2026innocuous. \u00a0But considering we often lock the door and throw away the key when we get there you\u2019ve got to wonder about them. \u00a0While there are times in life when a comfort zoneRead More<\/a><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":2375,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_genesis_hide_title":false,"_genesis_hide_breadcrumbs":false,"_genesis_hide_singular_image":false,"_genesis_hide_footer_widgets":false,"_genesis_custom_body_class":"","_genesis_custom_post_class":"","_genesis_layout":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[52,163,184,190],"class_list":{"0":"post-2372","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-health-and-wellness","8":"tag-comfort-zones","9":"tag-life","10":"tag-midlife","11":"tag-new-beginnings","12":"entry","13":"genesis-grid"},"yoast_head":"\ncomfort zones can be hiding places<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Comfort zones are those familiar, habitual places we return to over and over. 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