Human beings are creatures of habit. We tend to stay with what’s familiar because it’s comfortable and easy. We wake up at the same time each morning, drive the same route to work each day, watch the same tv shows in the evenings, and so forth.

While it’s a good thing to have your “happy place,” your comfort zone can also be a very bad thing. Take a moment and look around you. Do you have all of the things you dreamt of when you were younger? Do you have good health, rewarding relationships, and so on? Are you living your dream life?

Our habits can make or break us. When we always remain in our comfort zone, the reality is what you see around you now is all you will ever know. We must venture outside of the familiar if we are ever to grow. Life is a wonderful challenge blended with free will and perpetual learning. All of the choices are ours to make. What happens to us, for the most part, is up to us.

Being afraid of stepping outside of our comfort zones is entirely okay, as long as we manage our fear and push through it. The best way to accomplish this is to jump in head first. Imagine an icy cold swimming pool on a hot summer day. It looks really inviting but you know at first you’re going to freeze! The best way to conquer that fear is just to jump in. Don’t think–act. The same goes with your comfort zone. If you over think it, chances are you’ll stay with what’s comfortable and never learn anything new. So push through it and take a chance. Even if you fail, you’ll learn from the experience. And life is an ongoing learning process.