Pathwalking 229
Everybody has comfort zones.
We all have places where we feel most comfortable. Some are literal, some are figurative. Each of us have places where we can go to feel comfort, to feel calm, to just be without overtaxing ourselves.
The problem with comfort zones is that sometimes they can be very hard to break out of.
One of the things about Pathwalking is that it is my way of choosing my own destiny, going my own way as makes me feel happy. I am on a path that allows me to do what I want with my life.
However, sometimes my path is my comfort zone. I do my thing, I wind up with my own patterns and routines, and take comfort in the way things fall. This is my path, and I will traverse it.
Unfortunately there are situations in my life where I have to take different courses along my path. What do I want most? I want to write. I want to create new stories and edit existing ones and share my worlds and my imagination with a wide ranging audience. However, until I expand my sales and begin to sell my writing at a MUCH higher volume, this is not going to pay my bills.
Pathwalking is not about pie-in-the-sky ideas. I’ve written before that while we all have goals and aspirations we can strive for, there is a certain reality involved that cannot be ignored. You can manifest almost anything you need, consciousness creates reality…but it has to be believable to you. If you are not involved in politics you probably cannot become President. If you don’t actually write things down you probably cannot become a writer. You probably cannot become an astronaut if you aren’t taking steps in that direction as your path.
At present, I have to work a day job of some sort in order to pay my bills. I have to pay for gas and food and other essentials of a modern life so that I can do fun things like fencing and weekend events and such. This is where I think I sometimes get stuck in my own comfort zone.
I’ve been working on and off for the same business for more than a decade. There have been multiple occasions where I left that job, but I always return. I have held several titles and positions within the business, and I continue to do a pretty wide variety of tasks there. I know the business inside and out, hell I even helped build the space before they ever opened their doors.
Why have I left more than once? Because in some instances it was to step out of my comfort zone and try to do something else. In some it was because I thought the proverbial grass might be greener elsewhere. Sometimes it was frustrations with the business and the hours that led me to walk away.
In many respects this place is a physical comfort zone for me. The people are great, both clients and staff, and it’s a holistic, open atmosphere I enjoy. Downsides are evening and weekend shifts I would rather not do so frequently, but it’s a part of the business and working there.
This job is, apart from my writing, the most consistent job on my resume. Because I have a tendency to experience a sort of wanderlust, my skillset is wide-ranging and varied, which to a very limited number of companies is advantageous. Unfortunately, to others, I look a bit flighty.
I began writing sci-fi and fantasy at the age of nine. Over the years I expanded my range, and I now write a number of non-fiction pieces, like this blog, a number of business-related works I’ve composed over the years, and even SEO website optimization and blogging. To write outside of fiction, in particular sci-fi and fantasy, was a step out of my comfort zone.
One of my primary jobs at the business I’ve so long been with is IT. I maintain and repair the network and the dozen-plus computers on it. I also deal with other technology infrastructure matters of the business. I have a knack for it, I’ve even built a couple of computers over the years.
More than once it has been suggested that I get deeper into IT. I started to do some freelance work with a tiny IT company, but it didn’t pan out to anything greater. I can do quite a lot, more than I often think I can, but to advance into this business further I need to get training.
The big question is – do I dislike IT beyond a hobby as much as I think I do, or is it a question of my comfort zone? I know, for example, that sales is something I dislike. Yes, it does sometimes pull me out of my comfort zone, but also I just not a fan of most of the sales jobs and the pushiness they require.
So what’s my point this week? My point is that I think I might be trapped within a comfort zone, and I need to break myself out of it. How can I be trapped if it’s a comfort zone? Because I think I might be holding back or otherwise procrastinating and not growing as I need to. I think I might be hiding inside my comfort zone to avoid scary steps that might lead to failure, but could equally lead to success.
I am still walking my path, but I may only doing so half-heartedly. I think if I let go of my anxiety and my fears and force myself out of my physical and emotional comfort zones, I can better realize both the path I am on and the goals at the end of it.
Do you know where your comfort zones are?
GOAL LOG – Week 19:
Diet: I am continuing to write out what I eat daily. I think I’m doing better with eating healthier and with eating less.
Exercise: Fencing happened twice last week, but I never got to the gym. However, I did a TON of walking more than three days during the week.
Writing: No writing or editing occurred. I spent a bunch of time promoting my newest published book, however.
Meditation: Five days of meditation, at least 8 minutes each day.
Gratitude: I wrote out 5 or 6 things to be grateful for every day last week.
This is the two-hundred twenty ninth entry in my series. These weekly posts are ideas and my personal experiences in walking along the path of life. I share this journey as part of my desire to make a difference in this world along the way.
Thank you for joining me. Feel free to re-blog and share.
The first year of Pathwalking, including some expanded ideas, is available here.
If you enjoy Pathwalking, you may also want to read my Five Easy Steps to Change the World for the Better.
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