Stepping out of your comfort zone! ~ what really happens...

The comfort zone. It’s the one thing in our life that makes us who we are and determines our state of mind. You remember the time you got all cuddled up on your couch watching TV on a Sunday morning while your mother cooked breakfast for you. That’s your comfort zone. Or how about the time you went to a class or even your office and spent the whole break hours with your friends. That’s your comfort zone. Washing your underwear, not a comfort zone! Or going to sleep hungry because you can’t go out or make your own food, not a comfort zone!

Everyone says, you should get out of your comfort zone to truly find yourself, to truly achieve something. That’s bullshit! The thing is, we have been so coddled by our parents that thought of even coming out of the house and doing our own laundry sends chills down the spine! We have been spoiled by our parents. Well we can’t blame them, they love us and will do whatever they can to make us more comfortable and happy.

I recently stepped out of my comfort zone. I lived with my parents which was a little torturous but I loved them. I loved to come back home and have a delicious dinner by their side. To watch TV shows together, to cook beside them. I had great friends too. Soo great that at one point I thought life couldn’t get any better than this. Well it didn’t. It sucked. And it started to suck when I stepped out of my comfort zone. One day I just decided that “hey! Why don’t I move to Bangalore!”  Why you ask? Well I got an opportunity to work for a project. A pretty good project considering the one I had before was going downhill!

So I just packed my bags and left with excitement about this new life and the freedom I would get.

Oh, you know what other thing is over rated? Freedom! Yes I was out of my parents’ house, I didn’t have to live by their rules anymore. I could roam at night, I could go to parties, and I could go on a trip without even a hesitation! But you know, after a week I moved out of my parents’ house, I understood how right they were. I was so scared and lonely that I would just come back from the office and stare blankly at my laptop trying to watch a movie to distract myself. The amount of anxiety and fear you have of staying alone and doing your own chores is really overwhelming. So much as so that in days you start to curse yourself for leaving your perfect life behind and going after a good opportunity.

See here’s the thing. No one is ever going to tell you how bad it is. We read all these great quotes about how stepping out of comfort zone will lead you to success and happiness. Nobody tells about the anxiety, the depression, the loneliness, and the helplessness you feel when you are sick and there’s nobody to take care of you. These are the things you are going to have to deal with, yourself! There’s no mommy to bring you hot soup on a cold night. No daddy to help come save you when you are stuck outside your work in the middle of the night and can’t get a cab. It’s you. Just you, standing there all alone clenching your ganesha locket and promising yourself that it’s going to get better.

And you know what, it is going to get better. You just have to get past the really bad days to have some good days. Yes you are alone right now, but you know what, when you go home for Diwali, your parents are going to be there waiting for you to shower all their love and spoil you all over again. Your friends are going to be there with you, wishing you all the happiness on your birthday. You are going to be fine. You just have to remind yourself, you are here for a reason. And no amount of an “uncomfortable zone” is going to stop you from getting all you ever wanted in your life.

I agree, it’s not easy. But at some point in your life, you have to get out of that comfort zone. And then only you will discover the things that you can achieve, and you will realize, stepping out of that comfort zone was the best decision you ever made.