As human beings, most of us crave stability, the habits of the everyday. There’s a good evolutionary reason for this: For millions of years, unpredictability and uncertainty were tantamount to danger. There are plenty of benefits to having a routine — it lowers our stress levels and is a building block of good health. The “comfort zone” exists for a reason: to keep us comfortable.
Still, there is such a thing as getting too comfortable. While we may feel safer in a routine, a fear of the unknown can also cause us to live life on autopilot. Too much stability has been scientifically linked to a lack of growth or learning in our lives. As the old adage goes: “Old ways won’t open new doors.” Staying in your comfort zone can restrict you, cutting you off from new experiences or from taking a leap toward what you really want.
Maybe you’re aware it’s time to step out of your comfort zone, but you don’t know quite where to start — old habits die hard, after all. These 13 quotes can help give you that gentle nudge out the proverbial door — and into exciting new territory.
Go and make interesting mistakes, make amazing mistakes, make glorious and fantastic mistakes. Break rules. Leave the world more interesting for your being here.
Without experimentation, a willingness to ask questions and try new things, we shall surely become static, repetitive, and moribund.
Sometimes the bravest and most important thing you can do is just show up.
If you want to conquer fear, do not sit home and think about it. Go out and get busy.
[People] make their best work when they’re riding that wave and a little bit uncomfortable. Sell your own myth, but never buy it.
When I let go of what I am, I become what I might be.
Great people do things before they’re ready.
Don’t fear failure so much that you refuse to try new things. The saddest summary of a life contains three descriptions: could have, might have, and should have.
Sometimes the place you are used to is not the place you belong.
And the thing about blooming is, nothing about the process is easy. It requires every part of you to stretch upward, with your roots firmly planted in the ground; and in the sun, and in the rain, and wind, you stand anyway, even against the pull of the soil. And through it all, one day you will see all along you were transforming.
Comfort can be dangerous. Comfort provides a floor but also a ceiling.
A bird is safe in its nest — but that is not what its wings are made for.
We delight in the beauty of the butterfly, but rarely admit the changes it has gone through to achieve that beauty.
Featured Image Credit: imagedepotpro/ iStock
Paola Bennet
Paola Bennet is a writer based in Brooklyn, NY. She writes a fortnightly newsletter that treasures the mundane, called Small Histories. Find her on Instagram @paolafbennet.
