"But It's Not That Simple!" and Other Rationalizations

Goodness knows, I have "gotten in my own way" plenty of times during this experience we call "life."

As often as not, my "excuse" has been that I din't feel well-prepared enough to undertake some project or experience.

Whether it's fundamental laziness, an abundance of caution or simply my personality, I have always belongs to the "measure TWICE and cut ONCE" school of managing life.

For the most part, it's an approach that has stood me in good stead, and any time I have been "persuaded" by others to approach my basic style, I have ended up with complete and utter disaster!

While I definitely support the idea that "you learn from your mistakes," I am also very aware of what it means to willingly rush headlong into an inevitable mistake. So I avoid doing that, often to frustration of those who have a more... impulsive... approach to navigating life.

I was thinking about precisely that, this afternoon... and it led me down the rabbit hole of comfort zones and navigating them. And how that particular term means different things to different people.

For example, jumping out of a perfectly good airplane (or bungee jumping) is way outside my comfort zone, and not something I'd do. By contrast, getting "emotionally naked" with someone and laying myself open spiritually/psychologically doesn't scare me in the slightest, even though 95% of the population are likely terrified of such a thing... including those plane and bungee jumpers.

Of course, I have been around the psychology/self-help field for most of my adult life — perhaps as a bi-product of often having been a "magnet" for sociopaths and narcissists — so exposing the mind and soul is within my comfort zone. Or one of them, at least.

But how simple (or not) is it really to overcome some of those hurdles we place in our own way? When I preoccupy myself with "measuring twice and only cutting once," what am I actually missing out on? Anything? Is there even a behavior that needs to be modified?

In the mental health field the idea of something being a "disorder" is typically contingent on that "thing" or behavior having enough influence over us as to put limitations on our ability to enjoy and function in everyday life.

When questioned, we might say that "it's not that simple" to just change the behavior and strike out in a different direction. After all, many of our strange rationalizations have their roots in our upbringings, and often involve on or more traumatic events.

You don't just quit doing something if you're actively fearful of reliving a trauma from your past!

Not that I was tossed out of airplanes against my will, mind you!

But we do owe it to ourselves to get down inside the root causes of our reluctance... and sometimes we may well discover that staying in our comfrt zone — whatever that might be — is precisely the right thing to do. Comfort zones aren't alwats bad, and sometimes they are actually the space in which we are most effective!

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great Friday!

How about YOU? What are your thoughts about "comfort zones" and breaking out of habits? Leave a comment if you feel so inclined — share your experiences — be part of the conversation!

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Created at 2025.08.22 00:31 PDT
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