Going Out Of My Comfort Zone Is My Challenge, What Is Yours?



Boost Book Journal Prompt #9: Write about a challenging situation you have been in and how you overcame it. Read it every time you feel like you can’t do something.

Growing up an only child, with no extended family, prompted me to be very skilled at finding things to do to fill my time. It’s probably one of the reasons why I like to dabble in so many different things to keep my time filled. With that said, it’s also the reason why I’m perfectly fine staying at home,  not socializing much and chose to stay in the same line of work for 28 years…I’m simply not fond of change or going out of my comfort zone.

One of my biggest challenges in my life is forcing myself to go out of my comfort zone to socialize. I don’t like it, but I can’t deny I’ve been rewarded on multiple occasions for doing so. When reading the prompt above I immediately was taken back to two times in my life when I FORCED myself into to social situations and both were life changing.

The first time occurred when I was single and “looking for love”. In our church there are many organized activities for adult singles to interact and hang out. The thought of going alone to these activities was gut wrenching for me. Eventually I talked myself into it and went. I wouldn’t say it ever got easier, but after a few months my internal conversations were a lot less of a struggle. Then one awkward night at a dance I met my husband. Our first dance to Elvis was extremely awkward and kinda comical looking back, but we hit it off and the rest is history.


My second blessing came when I wanted to be part of a service group I had crossed paths with. I was witnessing the blessings from their work and knew I wanted to be part of it.  When an opportunity came up that made it possible for me to meet some of these people, my first immediate reaction was to go for it, but as time goes on I’m very good at talking myself out of uncomfortable situations and avoid them all together.  Luckily my daughter pushed me in the right direction, the negative voice lost and I was on my way. Nothing says intimidating like having to travel out of state to show up at a “big” house and share a living space with 30+ people you’ve never met for 5 or 6 days. 4 years later many of these kind men and women are still my friends, give my family support like no other, and I can’t imagine my life without them. 


My life changed for the better in both of these situations and I’m blessed beyond measure because I chose to work through those uncomfortable moments. You can’t get anywhere if you don’t take that first step. Don’t get me wrong, I still like my alone time, I’m still perfectly fine with staying home crafting and cooking more times than not, but over the last 10 years I’ve found it easier and easier to find my way out of the “comfort zone”. The reward of making and building new relationships far outweighs the initial awkwardness.  Your challenge may be something entirely different, but the outcome can be the same if you work to overcome that first hurdle.

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