“Habits are safer than rules; you don’t have to watch them. And you don’t have to keep them either. They keep you.” – Frank Crane

How true is that ! We get so comfortable with our habits and our comfort zones, that many of do not even realize that we have become prisoners. Yep. Prisoners of our own accord. Prisoners of our comfort zones. We get so set in our ways that we do anything to avoid disturbing our comfort zones. Routines become habits. And we get so comfortable with our habits that the mere thought of making even the smallest change makes us cringe.

The result ? Stagnation. End of our growth. Life becomes merely an existence. It is like living the same day over and over again.

But stagnation brings with it the seed of frustration, which starts to grow. And when that happens, there are only one of the two courses that one must take. The easy choice is to do nothing, and then one stays enclosed in the comfort zone. Which brings to my mind a famous quote by Albert Einstein, which is almost a cliche – “Insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”

Or one can choose to make a difference, but that means stepping out of the comfort zone. As Thomas Jefferson said, “If you want something you’ve never had, you must be willing to do something you’ve never done.” And by inference that means stepping out of the comfort zone. Because the magic only happens outside the comfort zone. 

So it’s time to get up, stretch, and take the next available exit to the magical zone.