“
It’s only after you’ve stepped outside your comfort zone that you begin to change, grow, and transform.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett
“
You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett
“
Do Not Lie to Yourself
We have to be honest about what we want and take risks rather than lie to ourselves and make excuses to stay in our comfort zone.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett (The Light in the Heart)
“
Comfort zones are overrated. They make you lazy.
”
”
Melina Marchetta (Saving Francesca)
“
The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure. You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett
“
A good portion of the things you want in life is outside your comfort zone.
”
”
Idowu Koyenikan (Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability)
“
Life always begins with one step outside of your comfort zone.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
This is the biggest mistake I could think would save me. I wanted to give up the idea that I had any control. Shake things up. To be saved by chaos. To see if I could cope, I wanted to force myself to grow again. To explode my comfort zone.
”
”
Chuck Palahniuk
“
If we are growing we are always going to be outside our
comfort zone.
”
”
John C. Maxwell
“
Because what else are we going to do? Say no? Say no to an opportunity that may be slightly out of our comfort zone? Quiet our voice because we are worried it is not perfect? I believe great people do things before they are ready.
”
”
Amy Poehler (Yes Please)
“
Most everything that you want is just outside your comfort zone.
”
”
Jack Canfield
“
The further you get away from yourself, the more challenging it is. Not to be in your comfort zone is great fun.
”
”
Benedict Cumberbatch
“
You're going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. It always does feel strange to be knocked out of your comfort zone.
”
”
Jojo Moyes (Me Before You (Me Before You, #1))
“
Great people do things before they're ready. They do things before they know they can do it. Doing what you're afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that- that's what life is. You might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that's really special and if you're not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself
”
”
Amy Poehler
“
Struggling and suffering are the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not demanding more from yourself - expanding and learning as you go - you're choosing a numb existence. You're denying yourself an extraordinary trip.
”
”
Dean Karnazes (Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner)
“
Be fearless. Have the courage to take risks. Go where there are no guarantees. Get out of your comfort zone even if it means being uncomfortable. The road less traveled is sometimes fraught with barricades bumps and uncharted terrain. But it is on that road where your character is truly tested And have the courage to accept that you’re not perfect nothing is and no one is — and that’s OK.
”
”
Katie Couric
“
I like being alone. I have control over my own shit. Therefore, in order to win me over, your presence has to feel better than my solitude. You're not competing with another person, you are competing with my comfort zones.
”
”
Horacio Jones
“
Sometimes it is good to be in uncomfortable situations because it is in finding our way out of such difficulties that we learn valuable lessons.
”
”
Idowu Koyenikan (Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability)
“
If you don't know what you want, you'll never find it.
If you don't know what you deserve, you'll always settle for less.
You will wander aimlessly, uncomfortably numb in your comfort zone, wondering how life has ended up here.
Life starts now, live, love, laugh and let your light shine!
”
”
Rob Liano
“
Real change is difficult at the beginning, but gorgeous at the end. Change begins the moment you get the courage and step outside your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett
“
LIFE BEGINS AT THE END OF YOUR COMFORT ZONE
”
”
Ogden Nash
“
I have realized; it is during the times I am far outside my element that I experience myself the most. That I see and feel who I really am, the most! I think that's what a comet is like, you see, a comet is born in the outer realms of the universe! But it's only when it ventures too close to our sun or to other stars that it releases the blazing "tail" behind it and shoots brazen through the heavens! And meteors become sucked into our atmosphere before they burst like firecrackers and realize that they're shooting stars! That's why I enjoy taking myself out of my own element, my own comfort zone, and hurling myself out into the unknown. Because it's during those scary moments, those unsure steps taken, that I am able to see that I'm like a comet hitting a new atmosphere: suddenly I illuminate magnificently and fire dusts begin to fall off of me! I discover a smile I didn't know I had, I uncover a feeling that I didn't know existed in me... I see myself. I'm a shooting star. A meteor shower. But I'm not going to die out. I guess I'm more like a comet then. I'm just going to keep on coming back.
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
“
Coming out of your comfort zone is tough in the beginning, chaotic in the middle, and awesome in the end...because in the end, it shows you a whole new world !!
Make an attempt..
”
”
Manoj Arora (From the Rat Race to Financial Freedom)
“
We are so accustomed to the comforts of "I cannot", "I do not want to" and "it is too difficult" that we forget to realize when we stop doing things for ourselves and expect others to dance around us, we are not achieving greatness. We have made ourselves weak.
”
”
Pandora Poikilos (Excuse Me, My Brains Have Stepped Out)
“
Your comfort zone is a place where you keep yourself in a self-illusion and nothing can grow there but your potentiality can grow only when you can think and grow out of that zone.
”
”
Rashedur Ryan Rahman
“
Do not resist events that move you out of your comfort zone, especially when your comfort zone was not all that comfortable.
”
”
Alan Cohen
“
The comfort zone is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure.
If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone. Great things don’t come from comfort zones.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett (The Light in the Heart)
“
So I forced myself to step out of my comfort zone and go out and connect with people. I realised that no one knew me here. I could become whoever I wanted to be for these people, and that became my courage.
”
”
Charlotte Eriksson (Empty Roads & Broken Bottles: in search for The Great Perhaps)
“
It wouldn't kill you to get out of your comfort zone a little bit.
”
”
Jenny Han (To All the Boys I've Loved Before (To All the Boys I've Loved Before, #1))
“
Denial is the ultimate comfort zone.
”
”
David Goggins (Can't Hurt Me: Master Your Mind and Defy the Odds)
“
Media seem to get off easy to stuff the "sheeple" with canned and standardized messages that they can digest at ease in their comfort zone, without leaving any bitter aftertaste. ("Don't leave! Stay with us!")
”
”
Erik Pevernagie
“
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
”
”
K. Bromberg (Driven (Driven, #1))
“
Everything you want is just outside your comfort zone.
”
”
Robert G. Allen (The One Minute Millionaire: The Enlightened Way to Wealth)
“
Writer advice... Write. Finish things. Go for walks. Read a lot & outside your comfort zone. Stay interested. Daydream. Write.
”
”
Neil Gaiman
“
You're going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. It always does feel strange to be knocked out of your comfort zone but I hope you feel exhilarated too.
Live boldly. Push yourself. Don't settle. Just live well. Just live.
”
”
Jojo Moyes (Me Before You (Me Before You, #1))
“
Fear and anxiety many times indicates that we are moving in a positive direction, out of the safe confines of our comfort zone, and in the direction of our true purpose.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
Nobody who ever accomplished anything big or new or worth raising a celebratory fist in the air did it from their comfort zone. They risked ridicule and failure and sometimes even death.
”
”
Jen Sincero (You Are a Badass®: How to Stop Doubting Your Greatness and Start Living an Awesome Life)
“
You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. It always does feel strange to be knocked out of your comfort zone . . . There is a hunger in you, Clark. A fearlessness. You just buried it, like most people do. Just live well. Just live.
”
”
Jojo Moyes (After You (Me Before You, #2))
“
Risk, then, is not just part of life. It is life. The place between your comfort zone and your
dream is where life takes place. It's the high-anxiety zone, but it's also where you discover
who you are.
”
”
Nick Vujicic
“
Sometimes we have to step out of our comfort zones. We have to break the rules. And we have to discover the sensuality of fear. We need to face it, challenge it, dance with it.
”
”
Kyra Davis
“
When you're with someone for so long you get used to them, y'know? It's a comfort-zone thing. When we get settled in our comfort zone, trying to pull us out of it even if everything about it is hell and unhealthy, is like trying to pull a fat ass couch potato out of his living room long enough to get a life.
”
”
J.A. Redmerski (The Edge of Never (The Edge of Never, #1))
“
Comfort is your biggest trap and coming out of comfort zone your biggest challenge.
”
”
Manoj Arora (From the Rat Race to Financial Freedom)
“
How to win in life:
1 work hard
2 complain less
3 listen more
4 try, learn, grow
5 don't let people tell you it cant be done
6 make no excuses
”
”
Germany Kent
“
This is the new year the new you. You can pass through another year, coasting on cruise control. Or you can step out of your comfort zone, trying things you have never done before, & make 2012 as the year that you elevate from where you are & soar high. Make it happen!
”
”
Pablo
“
Step out of your comfort zone. Comfort zones, where your unrealized dreams are buried, are the enemies of achievement. Leadership begins when you step outside your comfort zone.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett
“
While we are curling down in our comfort zone, the perverted talents of connectivity-designers drive us surreptitiously into a blind alley of addiction. If, however, we succeed in impeding mobiles' unlimited rule, we may be able to relish the fragrance of the ‘moment’ but also sense the vital spark and spirit of “otherness”. ("Even if the world goes down, my mobile will save me")
”
”
Erik Pevernagie
“
...often, stepping outside your comfort zone is not careless irresponsibility, but a necessary act of obedience.
”
”
Andy Stanley (Fields of Gold (Generous Giving))
“
Your new life is going to cost you your old one.
It’s going to cost you your comfort zone and your sense
of direction.
It’s going to cost you relationships and friends.
It’s going to cost you being liked and understood.
It doesn’t matter.
The people who are meant for you are going to meet you
on the other side. You’re going to build a new comfort
zone around the things that actually move you forward.
Instead of being liked, you’re going to be loved. Instead of
being understood, you’re going to be seen.
All you’re going to lose is what was built for a person you
no longer are.
”
”
Brianna Wiest (The Mountain Is You: Transforming Self-Sabotage Into Self-Mastery)
“
Codes and semiotic conventions are a challenge for human communication, since they seal off people with a privacy protection label and make them accessible only by means of a barcode that might estrange them from their surroundings but, at the same time, procure them a kind of reassurance in their comfort zone. This dialectical situation may keep them struggling during their entire life. ("The unbreakable code " )
”
”
Erik Pevernagie
“
You have to be uncomfortable in order to be successful, in some ways. If you stay in your comfort zone! You would never do the things that you need to do.
”
”
Lights Poxlietner
“
I was tired of chasing ghosts, hollow men who were outside my comfort zone, men who had nothing to give me except a rush. It was all I asked for, and all I ever got.
”
”
Terry McMillan (Getting to Happy (Waiting To Exhale #2))
“
I feel that we are often taken out of our comfort zones, pushed and shoved out of our nests, because if not, we would never know what we could do with our wings, we would never see the horizon and the sun setting on it, we would never know that there's something far better beyond where we are at the moment. It can hurt, but then later you say "thank you." I have been pushed and shoved and have fallen out and away, so very, very, many, many times! And others around me have not! But then, the others haven't seen what I have seen or felt what I have felt or been who I have been, they can't become what I have become. I am me.
”
”
C. JoyBell C.
“
The world is a huge place. How will you know where you fit in unless you explore beyond your comfort zone?
”
”
Katie McGarry (Nowhere But Here (Thunder Road, #1))
“
The walls of your comfort zone are lovingly decorated with your lifelong collection of favorite excuses.
”
”
Jen Sincero (You Are a Badass at Making Money: Master the Mindset of Wealth)
“
The danger of venturing into uncharted waters is not nearly as dangerous as staying on shore, waiting for your boat to come in.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
Even the smallest changes in our daily routine can create incredible ripple effects that expand our vision of what is possible.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
One thing that I love about traveling is feeling disoriented and removed from my comfort zone.
”
”
Sarah Glidden (How to Understand Israel in 60 Days or Less)
“
Do you know great minds enjoy excellence, average minds love mediocrity and small minds adore comfort zones?
”
”
Onyi Anyado
“
People with anxiety and trust issues find themselves drawn to people of consistency because they feel safe with someone who is predictable. However, that doesn’t cure their problem. The anxious person still remains the same because anxiety is a wave that crashes on the shore every time an unpredictable circumstance challenges their expectations and comfort zone.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
If we're growing, we're always going to be out of our comfort zone.
”
”
John C. Maxwell
“
It's good to be out of your comfort zone. Just don't step out of your gift zone.
”
”
John C. Maxwell
“
Never despise small beginnings, and don't belittle your own accomplishments. Remember them and use them as inspiration as you go on to the next thing. When you venture outside your comfort zone, wherever the starting point may be, it's kind of a big deal.
”
”
Chris Guillebeau
“
I want this day to be my fresh start. I want this to be the day I step out of my comfort zone and go somewhere new.
”
”
Jessi Kirby (Golden)
“
A human being can spend only so much time outside her comfort zone before she realizes she is still tethered to it.
”
”
Sloane Crosley (How Did You Get This Number: Essays)
“
Why would we need to experience the Comforter if our lives are already comfortable?
”
”
Francis Chan (Forgotten God: Reversing Our Tragic Neglect of the Holy Spirit)
“
Before I can become an expert on anything, I must first become an expert on me.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
Today I choose to step outside of my comfort zone into my miracle.
”
”
Suzette Webb (Blues to Blessings: from Fearful to Faithful)
“
A dream is your creative vision for your life in the future. You must break out of your current comfort zone and become comfortable with the unfamiliar and the unknown.
”
”
Denis Waitley
“
There is no growth in the comfort zone.
”
”
Jocko Willink (The Dichotomy of Leadership: Balancing the Challenges of Extreme Ownership to Lead and Win)
“
Yes to everything scary.
Yes to everything that takes me out of my comfort zone.
Yes to everything that feels like it might be crazy.
Yes to everything that feels out of character.
Yes to everything that feels goofy.
Yes to everything.
Everything.
Say yes.
Yes.
Speak. Speak NOW.
“Yes,” I say. “Yes
”
”
Shonda Rhimes (Year of Yes)
“
So generation after generation of men in love with pain and passivity serve out their time in the Zone, silent, redolent of faded sperm, terrified of dying, desperately addicted to the comforts others sell them, however useless, ugly or shallow, willing to have life defined for them by men whose only talent is for death.
”
”
Thomas Pynchon (Gravity's Rainbow)
“
You’ll never get anywhere by staying in your comfort zone!!
”
”
R.S. Grey (The Allure of Julian Lefray (The Allure, #1))
“
I will not allow my mistakes of the past compromise my hope for the future.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
Success is on the other side of your comfort zone.
”
”
Orrin Woodward
“
Life begins at the end of our comfort zone.
”
”
Neale Donald Walsch
“
Discomfort brings engagement and change. Discomfort means you're doing something that others were unlikely to do, because they're hiding out in the comfortable zone. When your uncomfortable actions lead to success, the organization rewards you and brings you back for more.
”
”
Seth Godin (Linchpin: Are You Indispensable?)
“
You'll reach a comfort zone in your life and start to wonder how you got there, how did you miss the sign posts that directed your real inner truth? Don't feel so guilty, you know when your meant to know and I guess that's the thing they don't teach you; when growing up, pain is inevitable but staying the same is a choice. Don't question why your feeling ready for something new, question why you stayed the same for so long.
”
”
Nikki Rowe
“
If we stay where we are, where we're stuck, where we're comfortable and safe, we die there... When nothing new can get in, that's death.
”
”
Anne Lamott (Help Thanks Wow: The Three Essential Prayers)
“
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone.
”
”
null
“
...even your pure intention might disturb comfort zone of others.
”
”
Toba Beta (My Ancestor Was an Ancient Astronaut)
“
You have to do what you love to do, not get stuck in that comfort zone of a regular job. Life is not a dress rehearsal. This is it.
”
”
Lucinda Bassett
“
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone. —NEALE DONALD WALSH
”
”
Hal Elrod (The Miracle Morning: The Not-So-Obvious Secret Guaranteed to Transform Your Life: Before 8AM)
“
This is for all the teens/young adults/adults who feel like they’ve been left behind. You’re not behind. You have time to find yourself and love and adventure. It’s all out there, and when you’re ready to push yourself out of your comfort zone and look for it, you’ll find it.
”
”
Christine Riccio (Again, but Better)
“
You only ever grow as a human being if you’re outside your comfort zone.
”
”
Scott Jurek (Eat and Run: My Unlikely Journey to Ultramarathon Greatness)
“
always read outside your comfort zone. That’s where stories come from. That’s where ideas come from.
”
”
Catherine Steadman (Something in the Water)
“
So there are two ways you can live: you can devote your life to staying in your comfort zone, or you can work on your freedom.
”
”
Michael A. Singer (The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself)
“
There are enough closed doors and glass ceilings in the world. My comfort zone shouldn’t be one of them.
”
”
Joya Goffney (Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry)
“
You’re going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. It always does feel strange to be knocked out of your comfort zone.
”
”
Jojo Moyes (Still Me (Me Before You #3))
“
This is a fundamental truth about any sort of practice: If you never push yourself beyond your comfort zone, you will never improve.
”
”
K. Anders Ericsson (Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise)
“
Where else but cyberspace does the introvert have the opportunity to start in our comfort zone of written communication and talk later?
”
”
Laurie A. Helgoe (Introvert Power: Why Your Inner Life Is Your Hidden Strength)
“
It’s not about getting out of your comfort zone to reach your goal. It's about widening your comfort zone so far that your goal fits comfortably inside. Once you do that, hitting your goals will be like hitting 3s for Steph Curry.
”
”
Richie Norton
“
Last weekend I went out of my comfort zone to go hang out with people I’d only heard about, and I met one new person who turned out to be a very valuable contact. I should try networking at my family reunions more often, because that’s how I finally met my dad.
”
”
Jarod Kintz (This Book is Not for Sale)
“
Most people never get there. They're afraid or unwilling to demand enough of themselves and take the easy road, the path of least resistance. But struggling and suffering, as I now saw it, were the essence of a life worth living. If you're not pushing yourself beyond the comfort zone, if you're not constantly demanding more from yourself--expanding and learning as you go--your choosing a numb existence. Your denying yourself an extraordinary trip.
”
”
Dean Karnazes (Ultramarathon Man: Confessions of an All-Night Runner)
“
So here we have purposeful practice in a nutshell: Get outside your comfort zone but do it in a focused way, with clear goals, a plan for reaching those goals, and a way to monitor your progress. Oh, and figure out a way to maintain your motivation.
”
”
K. Anders Ericsson (Peak: Secrets from the New Science of Expertise)
“
Your life as a Trailblazer begins at the limit of your comfort zone.
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
“
We have to be honest about what we want and take risks rather than lie to ourselves and make excuses to stay in our comfort zone.
”
”
Roy Bennett
“
The only really good performance is the one where you make yourself vulnerable, while pushing beyond your familiar comfort zone.
”
”
Kim Gordon (Girl in a Band)
“
hold still. stay there. tease back the layers. you are in the space between your comfort zone and infinity. you want to hide. not be seen. not be open. not be vulnerable. but you have to. there are two ways to do this - soft and gentle or fast and hard. both will get you to the other side, if you let them.
”
”
Jeanette LeBlanc
“
It's made me realize that imperfect is perfectly comfortable to me. Whether it's a city or my apartment, I feel most at home when things are somewhat flawed.
”
”
Hoda Kotb (Hoda: How I Survived War Zones, Bad Hair, Cancer, and Kathie Lee)
“
The more you rationalize, the more you move farther away from your authentic self.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
At times we relax in our comfort zone, and it takes leadership to recognize this and adjust our mindset.
”
”
Mark Villareal (A Script for Aspiring Women Leaders: 5 Keys to Success)
“
It's a real comfort zone for me to feel alien.
”
”
Tilda Swinton
“
[...] we need to cultivate the courage to be uncomfortable and to teach the people around us how to accept discomfort as a part of growth.
”
”
Brené Brown (Daring Greatly: How the Courage to Be Vulnerable Transforms the Way We Live, Love, Parent, and Lead)
“
Without being push to the wall, we will have remained in our comfortable zone. But this circumstance challenges us to find the courage to move on.
”
”
Lailah Gifty Akita (On Eagles Wings:Rise)
“
You only ever grow as a human being if you're outside your comfort zone.
”
”
Percy Cerutty
“
The new year means nothing if you're still in love with your comfort zone.
”
”
Rachel Wolchin
“
Find a way to say yes to things. Say yes to invitations to a new country, say yes to meet new friends, say yes to learn something new. Yes is how you get your first job, and your next job, and your spouse, and even your kids. Even if it's a bit edgy, a bit out of your comfort zone, saying yes means that you will do something new, meet someone new, and make a difference. Yes lets you stand out in a crowd, be the optimist, see the glass full, be the one everyone comes to. Yes is what keeps us all young.
”
”
Eric Schmidt
“
Comfort...was the key ingredient to making the prisoner crave the prison.
”
”
Ashim Shanker (Only the Deplorable (Migrations, Volume II))
“
A healthy attitude is contagious; let others catch it.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
What would happen if you gave yourself permission to do something
you’ve never done before? There’s only one way to find out.
”
”
Gina Greenlee (Postcards and Pearls: Life Lessons from Solo Moments on the Road)
“
You’re going to bend, and so am I. We’re going to compromise, negotiate, and distract each other. Being together means our priorities are going to change. That’s what happens when you make space for another person. Comfort zones will be stretched.
”
”
Penny Reid (Marriage of Inconvenience (Knitting in the City, #7))
“
You wanna be the next Tolkien? Don't read big, tolkien-esque fantasies. TOLKIEN didn't read big, tolkien-esque fantasies. He read books on finnish philology. You go and read outside your comfort zone, go and learn stuff. And then the most important thing, once you get any level of quality--get to the point where you wanna write, and you can write--is tell YOUR story. Don't tell a story anyone else can tell. Because you always start out with other people's voices... There will always be people who are better or smarter than you. There are people who are better writers than me, who plot better than I do, but there is no one who can tell a Neil Gaiman story like I can.
”
”
Neil Gaiman
“
Our self-esteem – be it low or high – has its influence on our thoughts, relationships, profession, and social life. When it is channeled in the right direction, you will find enough confidence to move out of your comfort zone and explore new possibilities.
”
”
Prem Jagyasi
“
The best way to develop people is to constantly get them out of their comfort zone.
”
”
Ziad K. Abdelnour
“
I like doing things that make me uncomfortable. I try not to have a comfort zone
”
”
Jennifer Echols (Dirty Little Secret)
“
If your comfort zone is misery, it's time to get uncomfortable.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
Don't be afraid to employ people who will force you out of your comfort zone.
”
”
George Foreman (Knockout Entrepreneur (Nelsonfree))
“
When you cross your comfort zone, fear zone, learning zone and growth zone, you will enter into the zone of leadership.
”
”
Amit Ray (Mindfulness Meditation for Corporate Leadership and Management)
“
World-class begins where your comfort zone ends is a rule the successful, the influential and the happiest always remember.
”
”
Robin S. Sharma (The 5 AM Club: Own Your Morning. Elevate Your Life)
“
So what if you failed? You're never going to accomplish anything worthwhile if you keep to your comfort zone.
”
”
Lauren Asher (Terms and Conditions (Dreamland Billionaires, #2))
“
Discomfort may be a doorway; don’t run from it.
”
”
Joseph Deitch (Elevate: An Essential Guide to Life)
“
I have so much respect for the emotionally brave. The ones who put in the emotional work and take the real risks of being vulnerable and removing masks. It's easy to make chitchat, but it's hard to speak about what's really under the surface. It's easy to joke, but difficult to cry. It's easy to numb, but hard to feel.
Ironically the real victims of emotional laziness are the people themselves. They end up choosing their emotional comfort zones over happiness. So in the end, they may not be 'uncomfortable' anymore; but they are also miserable.
”
”
Yasmin Mogahed
“
Usually the opposite of what we fear is our greatest fear.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman
“
I’m not concerned about your comfort zone or readiness for change. I’m concerned about the kids who just entered Kindergarten.
”
”
Ian Jukes
“
My comfort zone is right above the ozone layer.
”
”
Jarod Kintz (At even one penny, this book would be overpriced. In fact, free is too expensive, because you'd still waste time by reading it.)
“
If you always do what is easy and choose the path of least resistance, you never step outside your comfort zone. Great things don’t come from comfort zones.
”
”
Roy Bennett
“
Your current situation = the life expectations you have accepted as completed, unless you change your comfort zone to create a better life.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone, Had. I know you’re scared, but push through it. You just might miss the opportunity to live again.
”
”
K. Bromberg (Slow Burn (Driven, #5))
“
Comfort zone: simply means the routine of one’s daily life – it is a psychological state in which one feels familiar, safe, at ease, and secure.
”
”
Roy T. Bennett
“
Our Pioneers and Trailblazers who dared to make the journey into the unknown have given us the courage to break out of our comfort zone to dare to be unique, magnificent, phenomenal; and have set ideals to stand for the power of truth.
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
“
great things begin at the end of the comfort zone. It is all about exploring the bleeding edge in your own time or with someone who will not judge you for it being beyond your comfort zone
”
”
Andre Agassi (Open)
“
If you like fantasy and you want to be the next Tolkien, don’t read big Tolkienesque fantasies — Tolkien didn’t read big Tolkienesque fantasies, he read books on Finnish philology. Go and read outside of your comfort zone, go and learn stuff.
”
”
Neil Gaiman
“
It is always the little things that build up. Often there is no dramatic reason for discontent in marriages. It seeps in slowly over the years.
You don't even notice it creeping in. It happens, trickle by trickle.
You do not realise when or how the easy familiarity gets replaced by a 'taken-for-granted' attitude over the years. By the time you do, it is often late. Habits have been formed, patterns have been set. And a comfort-zone have been established.
A zone that is hard to get out of.
”
”
Preeti Shenoy (The Secret Wish List)
“
Most people will not stand up to injustice unless their comfort of living is severely threatened. This is because today's man does not care for the outside world so long as he has a roof over his head and four walls to contain his own.
”
”
Suzy Kassem (Rise Up and Salute the Sun: The Writings of Suzy Kassem)
“
Remember that in life, everything that you want is outside of your comfort zone. Because if something is inside your comfort zone, it's either something you already have or something so trivial as to be undesirable: you don't want something you already have. So in order to get what you want but don't yet have, you have no choice but to venture outside of your comfort zone.
”
”
Ali Binazir (The Tao Of Dating: The Smart Woman's Guide To Being Absolutely Irresistible)
“
Life is a concept, like the “universe", that expands as soon as we reach what we think is its edge.
”
”
Kamand Kojouri
“
Venturing out of your comfort zone may be dangerous, yet do it anyways because our ability to grow is directly proportional to an ability to entertain the uncomfortable.
”
”
Twyla Tharp (The Creative Habit: Learn It and Use It for Life)
“
Life begins at the end of your comfort zone." – Neale Donald Walsh
”
”
Pat Flynn (Let Go)
“
I recommend readers to be adventurous and to try things they’ve never heard of or considered reading before. Get out of the comfort zone and discover something new and exciting. If you’d never be caught dead in the mystery section go and read some George Pelecanos, Dennis Lehane, Michael Connelly or many others. If you only read thrillers get deep into the literary fiction aisle and let yourself be seduced. If you only read non-fiction pick up a Ian McDonald novel or a Joyce Carol Oates novel. If you only read comic books, get acquainted with the great Charles Dickens or a certain Monsieur Dumas. Pick up something at random and read a page. Feel the texture of the language, the architecture of the imagery, the perfume of the style… There’s so much beauty, intelligence and excitement to be had between the pages of the books waiting for you at your local bookstore the only thing you need to bring is an open mind and a sense of adventure. Disregard all prejudices, all pre-conceived notions and all the rubbish some people try to make you think. Think for yourself. Regarding books or anything in life. Think for yourself.
”
”
Carlos Ruiz Zafón
“
[The Universe] does not care, and even with all our science there are some disasters that we can not avert. All evil and good is petty before nature. Personally, we take comfort from this, that there is a universe to admire that can not be twisted to villainy or good, but which simply is.
”
”
Vernor Vinge (A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought, #1))
“
Here's a scary thought: What if God called you to give beyond your comfort level? Would you be afraid? Would you try to explain it away or dismiss it as impractical? And in the process, would you miss out on a harvest opportunity for which God had explicitly prospered you in the first place?
”
”
Andy Stanley (Fields of Gold (Generous Giving))
“
If you want to fly you need to grow up, to grow up you need to be a kid again. To be a kid again you have to just be yourself; so come out of your cozy comfort zone, Yell out and break the boundaries your are stuck in.. Then only you can fly.
”
”
Vikrmn: CA Vikram Verma (Guru with Guitar)
“
My mother finally took me to a child psychologist, who knew exactly what I was, but she just couldn’t accept it and kept trying to tell my folks I was reading their body language and was very observant, so I had good reason to imagine I heard people’s thoughts. Of course, she couldn’t admit I was literally hearing people’s thoughts because that just didn’t fit into her world.
”
”
Charlaine Harris (Dead Until Dark (Sookie Stackhouse, #1))
“
When you shit, as you first sit down, you’re not fully in the experience yet. You are not yet a shitting person. You’re transitioning from a person about to shit to a person who is shitting. You don’t whip out your smartphone or a newspaper right away. It takes a minute to get the first shit out of the way and get in the zone and get comfortable. Once you reach that moment, that’s when it gets really nice. It’s a powerful experience, shitting. There’s something magical about it, profound even. I think God made humans shit in the way we do because it brings us back down to earth and gives us humility. I don’t care who you are, we all shit the same. Beyoncé shits. The pope shits. The Queen of England shits. When we shit we forget our airs and our graces, we forget how famous or how rich we are. All of that goes away. You
”
”
Trevor Noah (Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood)
“
Presented with new information, the brain creates new connections and is revitalized. This is why it is so important to expose yourself to change, even if stepping outside your comfort zone means feeling a bit of anxiety.
”
”
Hector Garcia Puigcerver (Ikigai: The Japanese Secret to a Long and Happy Life)
“
It is how we nurture the good and deal with the bad that ultimately shapes our destiny.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
Pushing our self past our boundaries of limitation and extreme, sometimes to something that knocks off our comfort zone, it creates new neuro pathways with our brain, we become smarter, wiser, more clarity, our life becomes more fulfilling. Only because we have a totally new experience. We get a new brain with that. Neuroplasticity
”
”
Angie karan
“
I completely lost control.
I was out of my fucking mind with the taste of her, the feel of her, those little moans of pleasure she made.
Fuck, that woman completely unmans me.
She consumes me to the point where my brain stops functioning entirely….
”
”
Franca Storm (Comfort Zone)
“
Spirituality is the commitment to go beyond, no matter what it takes. It’s an infinite journey based upon going beyond yourself every minute of every day for the rest of your life. If you’re truly going beyond, you are always at your limits. You’re never back in the comfort zone. A spiritual being feels as though they are always against that edge, and they are constantly being pushed through it.
”
”
Michael A. Singer (The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself)
“
Sometimes, you can be more than enough for someone, but they choose not to be in your life. Always remember that Satan works hard to keep people miserable by feeding their fears, so they stay in their comfort zone. The truth is some people value what is predictable, more than chemistry.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
To reach only for that which pleasantly enchants you is the least of imagination, if even imagination at all, by the obvious reality of remaining within your means. The greater of imagination is parallel to risk. It extends beyond your comfort zone or haven, or sense of beauty, or what you personally believe suits you in exploration of what may not.
”
”
Criss Jami (Killosophy)
“
A comfort zone can be a mental state:Belief in God is a lot of peoples's comfort zone. Dont get me wrong, I'm not knocking faith; I just dont think you should have it because it makes you feel safe. I think you should have it because you do. Because somewhere deep inside you, you know beyond equivocating that something greater, wiser and infinitely more loving than we're capable of understanding has a vested interested in the universe, in the way things turn out. Because you can feel that, as much as the forces of darkness might try to gain the upper hand, there is an Upper Hand.
”
”
Karen Marie Moning (Faefever (Fever, #3))
“
Truth was never meant to make you comfortable, unless you stand in the middle of it with acceptance.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Your words control your life, your progress, your results, even your mental and physical health. You cannot talk like a failure and expect to be successful.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
If you opt for a safe life, you will never know what it's like to win.
”
”
Richard Branson (Screw It, Let's Do It: Lessons in Life)
“
Step out on faith and walk into your purpose.
”
”
Germany Kent
“
We cannot expect to grow if we are too afraid or unwilling to change and face challenges. When we exit our everyday, mundane lifestyles to do something different we can experience growth, undiscovered strength, and new abilities within ourselves.
”
”
Ashley Ormon
“
I've learned that love is about finding someone who pulls you to them even when reason might tell you otherwise. Someone who pushes you out of your comfort zone, not because of them doing or saying anything, necessarily, but because they make you want to try new things. They make you want to be daring, because maybe something new and scary doesn't feel quite as scary by their side.
”
”
Haley Cass (Those Who Wait)
“
Rationalizing is another road that leads to hell.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Only ever doing what feels comfortable is a form of suicide.
”
”
Oli Anderson (Personal Revolutions: A Short Course in Realness)
“
Focusing on your strengths is required for peak performance, but improving your weaknesses has the potential for the greatest gains. This is true for athletes, executives, and entire companies. Leaving your comfort zone involves risk, however, and when you are already doing well the temptation to stick with the status quo can be overwhelming, leading to stagnation.
”
”
Garry Kasparov (Deep Thinking: Where Machine Intelligence Ends and Human Creativity Begins)
“
To have a different life you have be a different person. You have to do what you haven't done. You have to become the person that fits that dream. But most of all, you have to realize that if you don't step into your story it becomes the moral of the story. Your inaction is a lesson you leave to your kids-- I was too afraid to change.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
All evil and good is petty before Nature. Personally, we take comfort from this, that there is a universe to admire that cannot be twisted to villainy or good, but which simply is.
”
”
Vernor Vinge (A Fire Upon the Deep (Zones of Thought, #1))
“
We spend all our energy and waste our lives trying to re-create these zones of safety, which are always falling apart. That's the essence of samsara - the cycle of suffering that comes from continuing to seek happiness in all the wrong places.
”
”
Pema Chödrön (Comfortable with Uncertainty: 108 Teachings on Cultivating Fearlessness and Compassion)
“
So there are two ways you can live: you can devote your life to staying in your comfort zone, or you can work on your freedom. In other words, you can devote your whole life to the process of making sure everything fits within your limited model, or you can devote your life to freeing yourself from the limits of your model.
”
”
Michael A. Singer (The Untethered Soul: The Journey Beyond Yourself)
“
The only certainty in life is that it is uncertain.
”
”
Charles F. Glassman (Brain Drain - The Breakthrough That Will Change Your Life)
“
If you are not angry with your average performance, you can't effect a change! You must get upset to grab the energy to break the fence confining you!
”
”
Israelmore Ayivor (The Great Hand Book of Quotes)
“
Engaging in activities devoid of difficulty, lounging in risk-free zones, is life without great meaning.
”
”
Jon M. Huntsman Sr. (Winners Never Cheat: Even in Difficult Times)
“
Don't let your life goals fall victim to the allure of comfortable routines.
”
”
Zero Dean (Lessons Learned from The Path Less Traveled Volume 1: Get motivated & overcome obstacles with courage, confidence & self-discipline)
“
Don’t blame others. it won’t make you a better person.
”
”
Lolly Daskal (The Leadership Gap: What Gets Between You and Your Greatness)
“
You know something, it’s not easy to break out of your comfort zone. People will tear you down, tell you you shouldn’t have bothered in the first place. But let me tell you something, there’s not much of a difference between a stadium full with cheering fans and an angry crowd screaming abuse at you. They’re both just making a lot of noise. How you take it is up to you. Convince yourself they’re cheering for you. You do that, and someday, they will.
”
”
Glee
“
Great people do things before they’re ready. They do things before they know they can do it. And by doing it, they’re proven right. Because, I think there’s something inside of you—and inside of all of us—when we see something and we think, ‘I think I can do it, I think I can do it. But I’m afraid to.’ Bridging that gap, doing what you’re afraid of, getting out of your comfort zone, taking risks like that—THAT is what life is. And I think you might be really good. You might find out something about yourself that’s special. And if you’re not good, who cares? You tried something. Now you know something about yourself. Now you know. A mystery is solved. So, I think you should just give it a try. Just inch yourself out of that back line. Step into life. Courage. Risks. Yes. Go. Now.
”
”
Amy Poehler (Yes Please)
“
Do not worry when situations get bitter. A bitter situation is a better teacher. The greatest lessons in life can least be found in comfort and much more in uncomfortable situations of life.
”
”
Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
“
Settling for what is comfortable is one of the biggest enemies to our enlargement...
In every season of life...we need to be committed to enlarging our personal capacity (even when it's not comfortable). We need to refuse to be satisfied with our latest accomplishments, as what we've accomplished is no longer our potential because it has been realized.
”
”
Christine Caine (A Life Unleashed: Giving Birth to Your Dreams)
“
Even though we can reach for the outer limits of our temperaments, it can often be better to situate ourselves squarely inside our comfort zones. . . .
Once you understand introversion and extroversion as preferences for certain levels of stimulation, you can begin consciously trying to situate yourself in environments favorable to your own personality--neither overstimulating nor understimulating, neither boring nor anxiety-making. You can organize your life in terms of what personality psychologists call "optimal levels of arousal" and what I call "sweet spots," and by doing so feel more energetic and alive than before.
”
”
Susan Cain (Quiet: The Power of Introverts in a World That Can't Stop Talking)
“
Trust me. If you do not decide where you are heading, and refuse to take the appropriate action, you will end up being shaped into what others would have you become. Then any change will not be made for your benefit but for theirs.
”
”
Chris Murray (The Extremely Successful Salesman's Club)
“
GrayG: Just to clarify, putting the perfectly reasonable and technically correct name aside, shenanigans are a go?
Laughing now, I lean back more comfortably in the ugly plastic airport seat and answer.
IvyMac: All night, Cupcake. I can’t wait to taste your frosting.
A couple seconds pass and then,
GrayG: Mac, you sent a dirty text. I just shed a tear of pride. I also have a hard-on. I think the little old lady sitting next to me is checking it out.
”
”
Kristen Callihan (The Friend Zone (Game On, #2))
“
We each have our own ways of sabotaging & keeping ourselves down…Do we need to remain the victim so strongly that we pull the ceiling down upon our own heads? There is a comfort in the familiar. Also, it is important to us to be in control because as children being abused we were not at all in control. In self-sabotage we can be both the victim & the victimizer.
”
”
Maureen Brady (Beyond Survival: A Writing Journey for Healing Childhood Sexual Abuse)
“
Our minds are creative and knowledgeable.
Yet time and time again, our needs and wants fell on deaf ears. We were told we weren’t good enough. We were abused mentally, physically, and emotionally. We were told with nasty sarcastic remarks at times, and here and there maybe a laugh that made the insult worse; “It would be your word against mine, and guess who they are going believe? Not you.”
One by one we took a chance to speak up, but our voices weren’t heard. They tried to make us feel threatened; as if we were going to lay down and be stepped on like shit on the bottom on their shoe. We interrupted their comfort zone and showed them their time was up!
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
“
Empowered Women 101: If they made you an option you will always be an option vs. the person they really wanted. Don't ever settle for someone that makes you go through hell only to stay with you because they don't have the confidence to go get what they really want. Fear will always follow your rules when they know they don't have options that make them stay comfortable. You won't grow real love in this type of a relationship. You will water weeds and call it a garden.
”
”
Shannon L. Alder
“
Truth is, life is going shake you, it will rip you right out of your comfort zone;just when you feel settled, it will shock you with some trauma and make you face adversity in the most undesirable of ways... And here is the question of it all? What's it all for... Not many search long enough to know but the wise ask you.. Are you going to be a slave to your journey or the pioneer to your dream, if God handed you a lesson ;he knew before your time, your strength could endure i. so next time you doubt another thought or feed your heart with negative emotions think about it... You are here, alive, breathing and if that's not enough than you should think about what is.
”
”
Nikki Rowe
“
People have to be secure in order to transfer their money to you. Never forget that. How you make them secure is to not come at them from above (action, yang) telling them how marvelous the product is and how marvelous you are. Instead, work on their comfort zone first, keeping silent for the most part, leading things along effortlessly by asking questions (nonaction, yin). When you do get to talk, be sure to tell them that everything is cozy, safe, and secure. People need to hear that. Work on their positive energy, and tell them about the good fortune that is about to descend upon them in these exciting and positive times. Then, and only then, mention the dumb screws.
”
”
Stuart Wilde (Infinite Self: 33 Steps to Reclaiming Your Inner Power)
“
The hood is also a low-stress, comfortable life. All your mental energy goes into getting by, so you don’t have to ask yourself any of the big questions. Who am I? Who am I supposed to be? Am I doing enough? In the hood you can be a forty-year-old man living in your mom’s house asking people for money and it’s not looked down on. You never feel like a failure in the hood, because someone’s always worse off than you, and you don’t feel like you need to do more, because the biggest success isn’t that much higher than you, either. It allows you to exist in a state of suspended animation.
”
”
Trevor Noah (Born a Crime: Stories From a South African Childhood)
“
I am conscious that knowing me has caused you pain, and grief, and I hope that one day when you are less angry with me and less upset you will see not just that I could only have done the thing that I did, but also that this will help you live a really good life, a better life, than if you hadn’t met me.....
....You're going to feel uncomfortable in your new world for a bit. It always does feel strange to be knocked out of your comfort zone. But I hope you feel a bit exhilarated too...
....there is a hunger in you, Clark. A fearlessness. You just buried it, like most people do....
....I'm not really telling you to jump off tall buildings, or swim with whales or anything (although I would secretly love to think you were), but to live boldly. Push yourself. Don't settle. Wear those stripy leggings with pride. And if you insist on settling down with some ridiculous bloke, make sure some of this is squirreled away somewhere. Knowing you still have possibilities is a luxury. Knowing I might have given them to you has alleviated something for me.....
....Don't think of me too often. I don't want to think of you getting all maudlin. Just live well.
Just live.
”
”
Jojo Moyes (Me Before You (Me Before You, #1))
“
The Friend Zone An imaginary area filled with self-professed Nice Guys who've been sexually rejected by women they've been Nice to. See also: A convenient social construct designed to comfort men sho cannot cope with rejection. See also: A manipulative tool used by Nice Guys to make a woman feel guilty for not wanting to have sex with them.
”
”
Laura Steven (The Exact Opposite of Okay (Izzy O'Neill, #1))
“
A young lady is supposed to be classy, kind, generous, and respectful. She is told she should not display any anger and/or badmouth her peers. A young lady is told to think ‘inside the box’ and to limit her expectations because her husband will provide for her in the future.
A young lady is taught to never fuss or complain and to always keep a smile on her face. When a young lady speaks her mind, she is told that she is not acting “ladylike”.
When a young lady steps out of her comfort zone to challenge herself to fight for what she wants, she is told she is not acting “ladylike”.
When a young lady plays a sport, and at times she may be aggressive, she is told that she is not acting “ladylike”
When a young lady is bossy, she is told to humble herself, because that is not acting “ladylike”. Maybe she isn’t bossy, maybe she is confident within herself, has high self-esteem and knows she can dare to be different.
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
“
He falls asleep quickly. I lie awake and listen to lights being switched off all over the town. Whispered
goodnights. The drowsy creak of bedsprings.
I find Adam’s hand and hold it tight.
I’m glad that night porters and nurses and long-distance lorry drivers exist. It comforts me to know that
in other countries with different time zones, women are washing clothes in rivers and children are filing to
school. Somewhere in the world right now, a boy is listening to the merry chink of a goat’s bell as he
walks up a mountain. I’m very glad about that.
”
”
Jenny Downham (Before I Die)
“
The litany of what I did want? To be challenged. To not live in the safety of my own little snow globe and be reassured by familiarity and surrounded by what made me comfortable and coddled me. To stand in other people’s shoes and see how they saw the world—especially if they were outsiders and monsters and freaks who would lead me as far away as possible from whatever my comfort zone supposedly was—because I sensed I was that outsider, that monster, that freak. I craved being shaken. I loved ambiguity. I wanted to change my mind, about one thing and another, virtually anything. I wanted to get upset and even be damaged by art. I wanted to get wiped out by the cruelty of someone’s vision of the world, whether it was Shakespeare or Scorsese, Joan Didion or Dennis Cooper. And all of this had a profound effect. It gave me empathy. It helped me realize that another world existed beyond my own, with other viewpoints and backgrounds and proclivities, and I have no doubt that this aided me in becoming an adult. It moved me away from the narcissism of childhood and into the world’s mysteries—the unexplained, the taboo, the other—and drew me closer to a place of understanding and acceptance.
”
”
Bret Easton Ellis (White)
“
So here we go, you and me. Because what else are we going to do? Say no? Say no to an opportunity that may be slightly out of our comfort zone? Quiet our voice because we are worried it is not perfect? I believe great people do things before they are ready. This is America and I am allowed to have healthy self-esteem. This book comes straight from my feisty and freckled fingers. Know it was a battle. Blood was shed. A war raged between my jokey and protective brain and my squishy and tender heart. I have realized that mystery is what keeps people away, and I’ve grown tired of smoke and mirrors. I yearn for the clean, well-lighted place. So let’s peek behind the curtain and hail the others like us. The open-faced sandwiches who take risks and live big and smile with all of their teeth. These are the people I want to be around. This is the honest way I want to live and love and write.
”
”
Amy Poehler (Yes Please)
“
It is a way now, approximately, of being at home. The forum has become one of the most consistent places of her life, like a familiar cafe that exists someone outside geography and beyond time zones.
There are perhaps twenty regular posters on F:F:F:, and some muchlarger and uncounted number of lurkers. And right now there are three people in Chat. But there's no way of knowing exactly who until you are in there, and the chat room she finds not so comforting. It's strange even with friends, like sitting in a pitch-dark cellar conversing with people at a distance of about fifteen feet. the hectic speed, and the brevity of the lines in the thread, plus the feeling that everyone is talking at once, at counmter-purposes, deter her.
”
”
William Gibson (Pattern Recognition (Blue Ant, #1))
“
Jesus said in His most remarkable sermon ever:
"For if ye love them which love you, what reward have ye? do not even the publicans the same? And if ye salute your brethren only, what do ye more than others? do not even the publicans so?" (Matthew 5:46-47)
I make an appeal for us to reach beyond our own contentment, to move out of our own comfort and companion zones, to reach those who may not always be so easy to reach. If we do less, what distinguishes us from the biblical publican?
”
”
Jeffrey R. Holland (Created for Greater Things)
“
Opportunities pop up for everybody all of the time. It's the way that we progress. It's whether or not you're in the right frame of mind or in the right stage of your life or if you're even looking for them [that determines] whether or not you see them. [...] As you take more risks you see opportunities more easily.
[Risks are] never the safe option, but for me the safe option is the worst option. [...] The riskiest life I can think of is letting yourself to be molded into this comfortable, same-as-everybody-else routine. For me, that is risking my whole life.
”
”
Ben Brown
“
When you shit, as you first sit down, you’re not fully in the experience yet. You are not yet a shitting person. You’re transitioning from a person about to shit to a person who is shitting. You don’t whip out your smartphone or a newspaper right away. It takes a minute to get the first shit out of the way and get in the zone and get comfortable. Once you reach that moment, that’s when it gets really nice. It’s a powerful experience, shitting. There’s something magical about it, profound even. I think God made humans shit in the way we do because it brings us back down to earth and gives us humility. I don’t care who you are, we all shit the same. Beyoncé shits. The pope shits. The Queen of England shits. When we shit we forget our airs and our graces, we forget how famous or how rich we are. All of that goes away. You are never more yourself than when you’re taking a shit. You have that moment where you realize, This is me. This is who I am.
”
”
Trevor Noah (Born a Crime: Stories from a South African Childhood)
“
-The Wallflower
A wall flower at a dance is not always a wall flower everywhere. We all have our areas of expertise and our areas of inability or inexperience. The problem is that many people become wallflowers in too many areas of their lives because they have given things a try and felt foolish in the end. And because no one likes to appear foolish many decide that it is better to simply blend in. “If I don’t do anything different, I won’t ever look foolish,” the reason, “No one will laugh at me or tease me.”
Why are we so concerned about what our peers think of what we are doing, wearing, or saying??? One of my favorite quotes is by Earl Nightingale. He said, “You wouldn’t worry so much about what other people thought of you if you only realized how little they do.” Exactly. Most people are too worried about themselves to really care about what you are doing! And for those who can put on blinders and remain oblivious to the possible embarrassment of total failure, it is usually cheers – and not jeers – that await them.
”
”
Sharlene Hawkes (Kissing a Frog: Four Steps to Finding Comfort Outside Your Comfort Zone)
“
Our minds are creative and knowledgeable.
Yet time and time again, our needs and wants fell on deaf ears. We were told we weren’t good enough. We were abused mentally, physically, and emotionally. We were told with nasty sarcastic remarks at times, and here and there maybe a laugh that made the insult worse; “It would be your word against mine, and guess who they are going believe? Not you.”
One by one we took a chance to speak up, but our voices weren’t heard. They tried to make us feel threatened; as if we were going to lay down and be stepped on like shit on the bottom on their shoe. We interrupted their comfort zone and showed them their time was up!
Their time of talking and belittling us this way has expired. They tried, but they failed to realize we are strong and we will never give up.
Their time of thinking they can touch us inappropriately and we will keep quiet has expired. No! We will rise up and bring the world to its feet. Trust me… We will be seen and heard!
Their time of trying to break us down has expired. No! We can move mountains!
Their time of pointing their fingers at us and putting F.E.A.R (False Evidence Appearing Real) into our minds by making us believe it is our fault has expired. No! It is not our fault. It never was!
Their time of nasty insults has expired. They fail to realize we catch every nasty word and throw back the insult to show we can give as good as we get.
Their time of preying off vulnerable women who have to “make a deal” to get a higher position they earned has expired. No! Your “man”ipulation has no effect. We, as women, have full ownership of our minds, bodies, and souls.
”
”
Charlena E. Jackson (A Woman's Love Is Never Good Enough)
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There shall always be that voice that will tell you how you are wasting your time and ability, how you shall fail, how some tried and failed, why your prevailing slips are indications of your future doom, why you are unworthy to dare, why your background mismatches your vision and aspiration, why your personality misfits your mission and how arduous the errand is. You have a choice. You have your thought. You have what burns in you that tells you how you can make it. Though the world may be interested in your success, it is much interested in your slips and mediocrity as-well. Your vision must keep you in your mission. Dare in wisdom. Dare unrelentingly. Ponder!
”
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Ernest Agyemang Yeboah
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I know what coming back to America from a war zone is like because I’ve done it so many times. First, there’s a kind of shock at the comfort and affluence that we enjoy, but that is followed by the dismal realization that we live in a society that is basically at war with itself. People speak with incredible contempt about, depending on their views: the rich, the poor, the educated, the foreign born, the President, or the entire US government. It is a level of contempt that is usually reserved for enemies in wartime except that now it is applied to our fellow citizens. Unlike criticism, contempt is particularly toxic because it assumes a moral superiority in the speaker. Contempt is often directed at people who have been excluded from a group or declared unworthy its benefits. Contempt is often used by governments to provide rhetorical cover for torture or abuse. Contempt is one of four behaviors that, statistically, can predict divorce in married couples. People who speak with contempt for one another will probably not remain united for long.
”
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Sebastian Junger (Tribe: On Homecoming and Belonging)
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Now what we call "bourgeois," when regarded as an element always to be found in human
life, is nothing else than the search for a balance. It is the striving after a mean between the
countless extremes and opposites that arise in human conduct. If we take any one of these
coupled opposites, such as piety and profligacy, the analogy is immediately comprehensible. It is
open to a man to give himself up wholly to spiritual views, to seeking after God, to the ideal of saintliness. On the other hand, he can equally give himself up entirely to the life of instinct, to
the lusts of the flesh, and so direct all his efforts to the attainment of momentary pleasures. The
one path leads to the saint, to the martyrdom of the spirit and surrender to God. The other path
leads to the profligate, to the martyrdom of the flesh, the surrender to corruption. Now it is
between the two, in the middle of the road, that the bourgeois seeks to walk. He will never
surrender himself either to lust or to asceticism. He will never be a martyr or agree to his own
destruction. On the contrary, his ideal is not to give up but to maintain his own identity. He
strives neither for the saintly nor its opposite. The absolute is his abhorrence. He may be ready to
serve God, but not by giving up the fleshpots. He is ready to be virtuous, but likes to be easy and
comfortable in this world as well. In short, his aim is to make a home for himself between two
extremes in a temperate zone without violent storms and tempests; and in this he succeeds
though it be at the cost of that intensity of life and feeling which an extreme life affords. A man
cannot live intensely except at the cost of the self. Now the bourgeois treasures nothing more
highly than the self (rudimentary as his may be). And so at the cost of intensity he achieves his
own preservation and security. His harvest is a quiet mind which he prefers to being possessed
by God, as he does comfort to pleasure, convenience to liberty, and a pleasant temperature to that
deathly inner consuming fire. The bourgeois is consequently by nature a creature of weak
impulses, anxious, fearful of giving himself away and easy to rule. Therefore, he has substituted
majority for power, law for force, and the polling booth for responsibility.
”
”
Hermann Hesse (Steppenwolf)
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We are committed to involving as many people as possible, as young as possible, as soon as possible. Sometimes too young and too soon! But we intentionally err on the side of too fast rather than too slow. We don’t wait until people feel “prepared” or “fully equipped.” Seriously, when is anyone ever completely prepared for ministry?
Ministry makes people’s faith bigger. If you want to increase someone’s confidence in God, put him in a ministry position before he feels fully equipped.
The messages your environments communicate have the potential to trump your primary message. If you don’t see a mess, if you aren’t bothered by clutter, you need to make sure there is someone around you who does see it and is bothered by it. An uncomfortable or distracting setting can derail ministry before it begins. The sermon begins in the parking lot.
Assign responsibility, not tasks.
At the end of the day, it’s application that makes all the difference. Truth isn’t helpful if no one understands or remembers it.
If you want a church full of biblically educated believers, just teach what the Bible says. If you want to make a difference in your community and possibly the world, give people handles, next steps, and specific applications. Challenge them to do something. As we’ve all seen, it’s not safe to assume that people automatically know what to do with what they’ve been taught. They need specific direction. This is hard. This requires an extra step in preparation. But this is how you grow people.
Your current template is perfectly designed to produce the results you are currently getting.
We must remove every possible obstacle from the path of the disinterested, suspicious, here-against-my-will, would-rather-be-somewhere-else, unchurched guests. The parking lot, hallways, auditorium, and stage must be obstacle-free zones.
As a preacher, it’s my responsibility to offend people with the gospel. That’s one reason we work so hard not to offend them in the parking lot, the hallway, at check-in, or in the early portions of our service. We want people to come back the following week for another round of offending!
Present the gospel in uncompromising terms, preach hard against sin, and tackle the most emotionally charged topics in culture, while providing an environment where unchurched people feel comfortable.
The approach a church chooses trumps its purpose every time.
Nothing says hypocrite faster than Christians expecting non-Christians to behave like Christians when half the Christians don’t act like it half the time.
When you give non-Christians an out, they respond by leaning in. Especially if you invite them rather than expect them. There’s a big difference between being expected to do something and being invited to try something.
There is an inexorable link between an organization’s vision and its appetite for improvement. Vision exposes what has yet to be accomplished. In this way, vision has the power to create a healthy sense of organizational discontent. A leader who continually keeps the vision out in front of his or her staff creates a thirst for improvement. Vision-centric churches expect change. Change is a means to an end. Change is critical to making what could and should be a reality.
Write your vision in ink; everything else should be penciled in. Plans change. Vision remains the same. It is natural to assume that what worked in the past will always work. But, of course, that way of thinking is lethal. And the longer it goes unchallenged, the more difficult it is to identify and eradicate. Every innovation has an expiration date. The primary reason churches cling to outdated models and programs is that they lack leadership.
”
”
Andy Stanley (Deep and Wide: Creating Churches Unchurched People Love to Attend)
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Depression goes through stages, but if left unchecked and not treated, this elevator ride will eventually go all the way to the bottom floor. And finally you find yourself bereft of choices, unable to figure out a way up or out, and pretty soon one overarching impulse begins winning the battle for your mind: “Kill yourself.” And once you get over the shock of those words in your head, the horror of it, it begins to start sounding appealing, even possessing a strange resolve, logic. In fact, it’s the only thing you have left that is logical. It becomes the only road to relief. As if just the planning of it provides the first solace you’ve felt that you can remember. And you become comfortable with it. You begin to plan it and contemplate the details of how best to do it, as if you were planning travel arrangements for a vacation. You just have to get out. O-U-T. You see the white space behind the letter O? You just want to crawl through that O and be out of this inescapable hurt that is this thing they call clinical depression. “How am I going to do this?” becomes the only tape playing. And if you are really, really, really depressed and you’re really there, you’re gonna find a way. I found a way. I had a way. And I did it. I made sure Opal was out of the house and on a business trip. My planning took a few weeks. I knew exactly how I was going to do it: I didn’t want to make too much of a mess. There was gonna be no blood, no drama. There was just going to be, “Now you see me, now you don’t.” That’s what it was going to be. So I did it. And it was over. Or so I thought. About twenty-four hours later I woke up. I was groggy; zoned out to the point at which I couldn’t put a sentence together for the next couple of days. But I was semifunctional, and as these drugs and shit that I took began to wear off slowly but surely, I realized, “Okay, I fucked up. I didn’t make it.” I thought I did all the right stuff, left no room for error, but something happened. And this perfect, flawless plan was thwarted. As if some force rebuked me and said, “Not yet. You’re not going anywhere.” The only reason I could have made it, after the amount of pills and alcohol and shit I took, was that somebody or something decided it wasn’t my time. It certainly wasn’t me making that call. It was something external. And when you’re infused with the presence of this positive external force, which is so much greater than all of your efforts to the contrary, that’s about as empowering a moment as you can have in your life. These days we have a plethora of drugs one can take to ameliorate the intensity of this lack of hope, lack of direction, lack of choice. So fuck it and don’t be embarrassed or feel like you can handle it yourself, because lemme tell ya something: you can’t. Get fuckin’ help. The negative demon is strong, and you may not be as fortunate as I was. My brother wasn’t. For me, despair eventually gave way to resolve, and resolve gave way to hope, and hope gave way to “Holy shit. I feel better than I’ve ever felt right now.” Having actually gone right up to the white light, looked right at it, and some force in the universe turned me around, I found, with apologies to Mr. Dylan, my direction home. I felt more alive than I’ve ever felt. I’m not exaggerating when I say for the next six months I felt like Superman. Like I’m gonna fucking go through walls. That’s how strong I felt. I had this positive force in me. I was saved. I was protected. I was like the only guy who survived and walked away from a major plane crash. I was here to do something big. What started as the darkest moment in my life became this surge of focus, direction, energy, and empowerment.
”
”
Ron Perlman (Easy Street: The Hard Way)