GROWTH

I hear this all the time, and you probably do too.

"Step outside your comfort zone".

The only way to grow is to expand your comfort zone.

When I think of my comfort zone, I picture a little bubble around me. Not far off from a fetus in a womb. It's my safe zone where all is familiar and I know every little nook and cranny. Clear boundaries, clear expectations, no surprises. It's comfortable.

But just like a fetus in a womb, we outgrow our comfort zones as we evolve and need to step outside our comfort zone to grow, to take up more space. Then slowly over time, the comfort zone expands to encircle my new space.

There are endless amounts of possibilities outside our comfort zones; an abundance of opportunities that could go on and on forever. Which is why this is where the magic happens. Because if we can take ourselves out of our comfort zones and see how much is possible right outside, we'd see we really can do anything we'd like.

With galaxies of opportunities right outside our bubble, growth can be scary. Walking into uncharted waters with no roadmap is intimidating. Where does one even start? How do you know if you're headed in the right direction? Fear jumps in, and has a sneaky way of taking over; preventing us from following our hearts desire because it's scary AF. It is much more enticing to curl up into the fetal position, step right back into our comfort zones, and be safe and predictable. We have the choice to stay in that cycle of fear, or break out of it, step outside of our comfort zones, and lean into growth.

In order to expand your comfort zone, it requires being brave, believing in yourself, knowing you are capable, and last but definitely not least...just doing it! Sounds so easy, right? Well, I think we all can remember a time we were forced to grow, and it really wasn't as easy as it sounds; no matter how big or small the change is. But I also think if we all look back on those times we were forced to grow, we will see that as terrible as it seemed in the moments leading up, the moment passed and we're still here.... and dare I say, even better versions of ourselves. Usually, it is the anticipation, not even the actual doing of the growth changes, that really prevents us from growing. The fear making up stories in our minds of the worst that could happen, everything we are losing, but not everything we have to gain.

This is a minor example, but this instance is what brought this all to light. This weekend I went to a yoga festival, just like a music festival, but instead of the different stages featuring different bands, it was different yoga teachers. One of the sessions was an acro yoga class, which I really had no intentions of going to. I don't do well with heights, and quite frankly, being a control freak, I don't do well with partner yoga where I have to put all my trust in my base. It's hard for me to let go. Skip.

Well needless to say, I ended up joining the class and thanks to some encouragement from a good friend, I did acro yoga. I tried something new and ya know what?!

I had a great time! 

I actually would do it again AND I would recommend to all my friends. But had I not tried, had I stayed in my comfort zone doing yoga on the solid ground, I would have never known that I am capable of doing acro yoga. Not only that I am capable, but I actually like it. Who knew?! This whole time I was telling myself I wouldn't like it but turns out its time to rewrite that script. And as much as my inner gremlin would like to tell me I am not capable, I am 100% capable. I know that now because I had the courage to take a leap, trust the process, and step outside my comfort zone.

What I noticed, was that the only thing holding me back was the damn fear. The fear of not being capable, of falling onto hard pavement, or of not being good enough. But I decided to change my attitude from a place of fear and everything that could go wrong, to a mindset of faith. Faith that I am capable and faith in what could be possible.

There are so many times in a day when this choice presents itself. It could be starting a new habit, writing a book, starting a new job or career, trying a new restaurant with a completely new cuisine. Each one of these tasks, no matter how big or how small, requires us to behave in a new way we haven't done before, meaning we have to face the unknown, the uncertainty. But once we step out of our comfort zone and try something new, we acquire new knowledge from new experiences and expand our comfort zones.

Growth.

This is the real me.

Yours truly,

Jessica Riggin