Dangers of Comfort Zone
The greatest obstacle to success is complacency – being in your comfort zone. #quote
Highly successful people will tell you that the secret of their success was doing what was uncomfortable. They were prepared, actually eager, to make the sacrifices necessary to achieve success. Thomas Edison said, “We shall have no better conditions in the future if we are satisfied with all those which we have at present.”
We all love our comfort zones; where we have everything under control and are in command. And again, not many of us like living risky lives or taking big risks; we don’t like paying the price to get what we want and still we don’t like it when we are faced with difficult situations that make us uncomfortable. This is true for an average human being. But come to think of it: if Jesus did not leave all the comfort in heaven, humanity would have never been saved; if Moses refused to leave his job as a shepherd to go and face Pharaoh, the children of Israel would have continued to suffer; if David decided to run away from Saul and go back to what he was used to doing, he would probably not have become the king of Israel. All these people faced difficulties, but they had a mission to accomplish. Esther likewise, stepped into a dangerous zone and placed her own life on the line for the sake of her people. She refused to sit, fold her hands and watch as things fell apart.
Comfort zones pose a great danger to our progress, growth, success and destinies. An average human being is resistant to change and if we want to live victoriously and make significant changes in our lives, we must get out of our comfort zones. Many of us have dreams, visions and great plans that lie unattended because we are already comfortable with who we are and where we are. We just want to work and fight our battles in comfort zones, but what we do not know is that it poses a great risk to our progress. It is a dangerous place to be.
God moved the Israelites out of Egypt and introduced them to another kind of lifestyle they were not used to. It was hard for them to transition and they desired to go back to what they were used to – a life of oppression, hard labor and the Egyptian food. Many of these people never entered Canaan because even though they were on their way to the Promised Land, they held onto their pasts. They could not let go of it and God was not pleased with them. It means that they allowed themselves to passively accept change into their lives, but never actively sought it. They refused change. This is the reason why it was hard for them to endure hardships in the wilderness, and as such put themselves at the mercy of their situations and circumstances. Such people do not and cannot win in this life because life itself is a battle, and as such must be treated. If we face life while still in our comfort zones, we will never win. Many of us are victims of circumstances because we’ve refused to get out of our comfort zones.
If you want to become a better person tomorrow, then begin by realizing that you are not a victim of circumstances and you are not meant to be. Everyone has an opportunity and grace to change their lives and accomplish great things, achieve their visions and dreams, and become the best they can be, but they must be willing to initiate change. They must be willing to break out and come out of their shells and cocoons. The bottom line is that as long as we remain in our comfort zones, we will never grow or move forward. We will also miss opportunities that could propel us to a higher level.
A sluggard says, “There’s a lion in the road, a fierce lion roaming the streets! “As a door turns on its hinges, so a sluggard turns on his bed. A sluggard buries his hand in the dish; he is too lazy to bring it back to his mouth. A sluggard is wiser in his own eyes than seven people who answer discreetly ~ Proverbs 26:13- 16 NIV
