The Comfort Zone is that realm where we feel safe, at ease, and entirely in our element. While it can often be a soothing place to relax and reset, it typically lacks the creative inspiration and divine trust required to manifest. 

The Comfort Zone exists far beyond just the physical world. It is any set of beliefs, behavior, or habits that create an emotional safe-space of comfort and security. It is whatever you’re acquainted with and used to…  

…Whether it’s the style of your art, the routine of your week, or the content of your conversations. It is that familiar, predictable way of doing things with minimal risk and maximum assurance. 

This might make the Comfort Zone sound like quite the enjoyable place, until we remember that comfort is the antidote to growth. 

In order to grow, we must feel free to grow, and we cannot feel free to grow if security is our greatest priority. We must value freedom over security, by putting ourselves in situations that trigger transformation.

These are not going to be situations we are entirely secure in or familiar with, because if there is no need to transform, there is no will to transform. We must immerse ourselves in the feeling of absolute freedom, which includes the freedom to “fail” just as much as it does the freedom to succeed. 

When we live life in the Comfort Zone, we sacrifice long-term fulfillment for short-term comfort. By stepping beyond the Comfort Zone, we engage in the purest form of adventure there is, and welcome the will of the Universe with open arms. 

Besides, if there’s one thing about the Comfort Zone that no one likes to talk about, it’s this: 

It doesn’t last forever! 

Let’s say you always wanted to be a musician, but you got used to your office job, and suddenly 10 years have gone by without you playing a single note. Your Comfort Zone is your current routine, so you stick with it for another few decades, until you wake up one day and what you feel is the furthest thing from comfort…

…It is excruciating grief and agonizing regret, because you sacrificed growth for familiarity. You chose security over adventure, and stagnation over transformation. Your dreams weren’t comfortable enough, so you never gave them a chance.

Now every fiber of your soul aches for when you had the chance to chase your desires in the wonderful pursuit of creation, where you had the freedom to fail, succeed, or heck, change your mind! 

We tend to think of the Comfort Zone as a safe place, when it’s actually the most dangerous place of all — here, you risk the neglect and abandonment of your deepest dreams and desires, for the sake of temporary comfort in a reality that guarantees you’re going to die anyway. 

Nothing feels worse. 

Still, like most things, an ideal relationship with the Comfort Zone is one of balance and moderation. While it is certainly not the ideal place to inspire transformation, it still serves its own important function to help us relax and reset after some worthwhile risk-taking. 

In fact, because the Comfort Zone puts our minds at ease, it’s actually a place where inspiration frequently strikes… 

...But inspiration requires action, and the Comfort Zone is known to discourage action due to the inherent risk of failure. Instead, it favors the repeated circulation of thoughts and ideas to the point where they lose their inspiration and potential for life. When there is no passionate flame of surrender and excitement, there is no opportunity for materialization.   

OK, so you’re convinced that the Comfort Zone is not the place you want to spend 100% of your time. So, how do you work up the nerve to step beyond its cozy, cushiony territories? 

We’ll tell you how: 

Cultivate trust in the Universe and within yourself. 

The Universe manifests all the right things and, as Dear UNIVERSE co-founder Sarah Prout reminds us: always in perfect divine timing. When we sincerely believe this to be true, we create trust in ourselves to play our own perfect part in its divine planning. 

If something feels out of your element or reach, remember that there is nothing more human than taking risks. What if, by venturing beyond your element, you are actually diving deeper into your element than you ever have before?  

What if, by taking creative risks, we are avoiding the biggest risk of all: living a life of unfulfilled dreams and unrealized potential? 

Step beyond your Comfort Zone by surrendering yourself to the adventure of creation, where you are free to grow, transform, and experience the full potential of your consciousness…

…Knowing that whatever the results may be, you ventured into the journey with an open heart and mind.