Blink.
Blink.
Blink.
Watching the cursor blink on a blank page, reminding me I’m about to begin.
Here’s the thing… I love to write… I wrote a book last year, if you didn’t know.
I always have. Recently while I was visiting home, I found some old journals. I was just writing my feelings away about how I was sad my cousin and I got in a fight. Even little me loved to express through my words. In a world of: VIDEO IS THE HOT NEW THING… my blog felt a little small. That’s not to say I don’t like making videos, I LOVE my lives and YouTube shares. It’s just different than how I express in writing. Also, can we talk about some of my blog posts… I was trying so hard to fit into some formula of what a blog should look like instead of how I wanted to write, another lesson for another time.
Recently, I went through a MASSIVE reawakening. How many reawakenings can we experience in this life? I’m fairly sure the answer is infinite as we choose a path of growth. We continue to shed layers of pain and old stories, we wake up to what’s operating us in the background as we journey back home to our core being. Who we were born to be.
After years of studying comfort zones and fear, how we house ourselves into smallness to let other’s shine, here’s one thing I know with absolute certainty…
A life inside (any) comfort zone is the most painful life of them all.
I promise you, promise you promise you this.
While the fear of showing up, the fear of failure, or the fear of judgement might feel so BIG… I can absolutely promise you that your comfort zone is 1,000 times more painful.
A note of caution for you: Choosing your comfort zone over purpose may bring on anxiety, depression, frustration, illness, resistance, anger, and a whole slew of other side effects.
And I speak from a lot of first hand experience; I’ve tripped into my comfort zone one too many times. Though my ego would want to proudly boast that I have no comfort zone any more after becoming the comfort zone expert… that would be a lie. We will find just as much comfort in success as we do in the mundane, if we don’t pay attention. I notice a lot of well achieved people like to call it working with their upper limits… it’s just a fancy term for comfort zones. They made it to a certain level that felt really good, the next level felt like a big leap, so they plateaued for a bit until they decided to overcome it… It’s a comfort zone. Anyways, I digress…
Hello, I’m Megan and I have A LOT of experience playing in my comfort zones.
It’s a common place to play for a well versed people pleaser.
Comfort zones let other people play bigger, shine brighter while you focus on not stirring the pot.
They keep you stagnant on a path of growth.
Comfort zones have no space for big dreams.
And you know what I’ve learned recently, through this viciously messy reawakening…
How much shame lives in your comfort zone.
Shame of who you are underneath the years of living for other people, the shame of what you’ve done or haven’t done, shame over what has built these walls of comfort in the first place.
Life inside your comfort zone means no one ever has to find any of that out, which feels pain free… or so you think.
Remember… a life inside your comfort zone is truly the most uncomfortable of them all… I promised you that, I meant it.
I’ve traveled the world and back, lived out of one suitcase, packed all my belongings into storage and lived around the globe… I’ve lived with no debt and earning more than I ever thought possible… I’ve lived a life where I work my own hours from home for the best boss in the world (It’s me, I’m the boss)… I’ve experienced many layers of freedom. And, some of the deepest freedom I’ve found is in creating connection through my openness.
It is far more uncomfortable to suffer in silence with your story and to allow it to define who you are at the core, than it is to find the moment someone looks at you and says… “I get it.”
In order to shed those comfort zones, in order to get out of the pool of shame…
(Here’s where I would have said now I’m going to share the “3 steps that will help get you there…” But I don’t really believe these are “steps” nor do I believe there are often linear steps to take in growth. I believe we take the steps and if they feel right we use them again and again… Anyways, here are my soul shares from this lesson… keep up, this how it’ll be around here)
You have to AWAKEN… or reawaken, if you’re familiar with the comfort zone trap like me 🙂
Wake up to the stories that are running in your background. What are the beliefs you have about yourself and where you are? Because those are the beliefs you are choosing to act from. Mindlessly moving, even if you’re mindlessly moving on a path full of your passions is like doing a dive without checking for rocks at the bottom of your jump. What are the stories you’re afraid people will “find out?” Because those are ultimately the stories that build our comfort zone(s).
Connect, connect with the community you feel safe enough to ask the hard questions to.
And claim who you truly are, not who they want you to be… whoever they are to you… whether it be a parent or friends or society in general. Don’t be afraid to ask the questions that get you closer to that claim of returning to your power. As I shared earlier, it is a powerful moment to connect with someone who looks at you and says… “I get it.” Vulnerability is true soul medicine. It will initially make you feel like you’re going to vomit in discomfort, but getting the fears out there ultimately is what takes their power away.
Pay attention to what drives you
Stay with me here, because your comfort zone is sneaky. Your comfort zone will do everything it can to keep you away from feeling the pain, from feeling the shame. If you don’t pay attention you will move into a comfortable scenario to fulfill another area of your life. It’s like a distraction mechanism. And before you know it you’ll be saying “I’m fine… I’m fineeeee.” Like Ross in Friends. Let me explain… I had a conversation recently with another entrepreneur about this; when we are highly driven by connection – it’s an easy way out as an entrepreneur to go back to a job to fulfill that connection need. It’s easy, it’s comfortable, but the call of your purpose and missions in life will never settle down until you courageously move towards them.
So hello, welcome to the other side of my reawakening.
It’s a potent one, a coming home to my true mission of service.
What’s on the other side of yours?
