Photo Story

Would you rather stay in your comfort zone? Or would you dare come out of your CONFINEMENT and accept the challenges that life has to offer? Or are you the type of person who would rather feel secure in your place of DETENTION and stay LOCKUP for the rest of your life? This is a 64-dollar question I am posing to everyone right now.

Having studied human behavior all my life, I know that forcing one to come out of his SHELL and leave his comfort zone can push "fear buttons" and trigger heightened anxiety?  One thing we need to consider when encouraging somebody to learn new things, meet new people, and try new experiences is his emotional well-being. 

We mean well ... when we suggest this, but to the uninformed ... it can generate a feeling of dread, and uneasiness ... much more the feeling of being overwhelmed. Suggesting to somebody to expand his horizon, spread his wings, and make the stride by becoming more interested in other people ... or more willing to talk ... or take part in social activities ... is blood, sweat, and tears, especially for a shy and timid person. So be mindful and be prudent when suggesting this.

To an outsider looking in ... staying in your comfort zone has its own disadvantages. It limits someone's growth and it has stunted his success rate and impedes and contains expansion and development.

It will be hard for anybody to bloom to his fullest potential if he wants to stay only where he is now.  He will never see progress if instead of moving forward ... he retreats backward. It is a gargantuan task if in spirit the person wants to propel himself in another direction but the other part of himself screams he has to remain and linger in his current state of comfort.

Another downside of staying in the status quo ... and not wanting to escape from the handcuff that has shackled the person's chances to see and try other options ... is that it has never given the person any clue on what he is really capable of doing ... or achieving.

And worst of all staying in one's comfort zone makes it hard for the person to cope with CHANGE or any readjustments. As they say ... "change is the only thing that is permanent in this world. So it will be tough luck for the person to wrestle with change if the person is ignorant or unaccustomed to it ... once it pays him its unannounced visit.

Other drawbacks if a person opts to stay in his cave ... are inaction ... unproductivity and dormancy. Life seems stationary and deadlocked. All opportunities were frozen ... all activities were halted ... and any signs of progress os at the standstill.

I hate to see stagnation ... but that's what it is!

Returning to the image above, the fish's life inside the aquarium is dull and boring.  And when he managed to escape from his jail-like enclosure, he discovered that the ocean is wide but that didn't stop him from swimming and exploring even the deepest areas. He realized what he was missing - his FREEDOM and his ability to achieve.

Life needs freedom ... where anybody can soar and metamorphose to whatever butterfly he wants to be. Life as a free man is limitless ... and that is where the magic happens.