I ran acrossthis quote a few days ago and loved it.  Every now and then I run across something that someone much more clever than I has come up with that just makes so much sense and says so much in a few words. 

It is easy to live life in your comfort zone because, well, it’s comfortable.  Duh.  Certainly we can’t always be living life at the end of our comfort zone, but to never venture there means we are willing to accept a life of mediocrity.  Comfortable, yes, exciting, probably not.  Everything we do was at some point “uncomfortable” for us.  As babies when we decided to take both hands off the edge of a chair and take our first few steps…we were venturing out of our comfort zone.  As kids, teenagers, young adults we are faced with new challenges.  As we accept those challenges, venture into the “unknown” we are often not comfortable, but this is how we learn and grow (remember going off to college or your first “real” job…scarey, right?).  But something seems to happen as we become adults.  We reach a level where we have achieved a number of life’s milestones…we might have a job, be married, maybe a family…and life is comfortable.  It is easy to stop here…a lot of (maybe most) people do.  And the longer we stay in our comfort zone, the harder it is to leave it. 

A ship in the harbor is safe, but that’s not what ships are built for.  John A. Shedd

What have you done in your life that meant leaving your comfort zone?  How has this choice impacted your life? 

We cannot become what we want to be by remaining what we are.  Max DePree

In 2003 I decided to attempt my first triathlon.  I had harbored dreams of doing a triathlon for years but had never expressed this to anyone.  Meanwhile, I had started going to the gym, joined a masters swimming program, started running up and down the street in my neighborhood and bought a road bike.  My first triathlon was in May, 2003 and involved a pool swim, something I was more comfortable with than starting with an open water swim (despite the fact that I was on the high school swim team).  I can tell you that I did not sleep at all the night before.  The next morning I was so nervous setting my things up in the transition area, so nervous standing on the pool deck waiting for my turn to jump in the water…and then I literally “jumped in, feet first” and have never looked back.  I loved my first race, and have raced ever since.  Not only did racing boost my confidence immensely, I have made some of my best friends (and met my boyfriend) through racing.  My interest in my race training led me to becoming a personal trainer, an area in which I am still evolving and growing.  Deciding to start this blog…end of my comfort zone…writing this particular post…way end of my comfort zone.  But the best things in life come from venturing to the edge…

Have a great weekend everyone, I will be back on Monday with more “magnificent mobility.”