Evan had been doing really well.  He was getting daily positive reports from school, he was doing great in his social skills classes, and his behavior was more manageable than ever before.  We were comfortable – too comfortable.

While there’s no doubt that some of it is chemical, and some of it is biological, I also know that I have gotten complacent, letting little behaviors slide, not sticking to our routine, and not consistently using our behavior tracking system.  I got stuck in my comfort zone, and unfortunately, I have been reminded how dangerous that can be.  We are now going back to basics, getting more focused, disciplined, and consistent, and we’re praying we’ll see positive results very soon.

It is so very easy to get stuck in our comfort zone.  Even though we’ve spent the last several years re-conditioning ourselves around managing Evan’s behavior, it’s amazing how fast we can fall into old habits. 

The problem with comfort zones is that getting stuck there occurs so gradually, sometimes it’s hard to realize it’s even happening. 

It’s all too easy to get complacent at work, with our kids, and in our relationships.  It’s hard to remember and even harder to practice, but the great things in life typically happen because we stretched out of our comfort zone.

Getting what you want requires effort.  It requires us to go beyond what’s comfortable and forces us to work for it.  Are there areas of your life where you have gotten complacent or where you could benefit by getting out of your comfort zone?

While it definitely requires some time, effort, and attention, it’s also where the magic happens.

“Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.” ― Neale Donald Walsch

16 Comments

  1. I have not made time to maintain my healthy habits. I have put on about 15# in the last six months and have reduced my walking to once a week. Thanks for the reminder. . . will walk three times this week and eat more greens!

  2. Sorry to hear about Evan’s setback and hope things improve quickly! Reading your blog has encourage me to move beyond my comfort zone to do several things I need to do but keep postponing! Thanks for the reminder!

  3. Anne, it is so rare to see someone put themselves “out there” where you could get negative feedback but when you do that you make us see ourselves more clearly, also. So, thank you very much for helping us see our not so perfect selves which gives us chances to improve too. Actually it is harder to leave my comfort zone now than when I was younger, that seems opposite of how it should be.

    • Thanks, Lesa. It may seem counter-intuitive, but it is way harder to get out of your comfort zone when you’re older. We spend most of our time outside of it when we’re younger, as everything is new, unfamiliar, and different. It’s when we get older that we stay there for comfort and security 😉

  4. OOPS! This message got stuck in between other emails and missed it. :p My life is changing so much since my grandmother past last April and since she left, I didn’t realize I was stuck in a routine full of tasks that it got to the point that I forgot about myself. After so much thought I realized that I have not done anything for me. Now, I have been exploring different things, working out, and much more. 😀

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