The little boy that I have had the pleasure of nannying for the last year says (AKA, screams) this on a regular basis: "I WANT TO STAY HOME TODAY!"
And let me tell ya, I can't blame him.
He has a cozy house. He is 4 and that's "His" place. The little man knows that when he stays there, he'll probably have a pretty dandy day.
You could say he's wise for a 4-year-old, he has his comfort zone figured out and he hates the idea of leaving it.
Yet, whenever he finally exits the building, that is after I say, "Please put your shoes on" about 78 times, he doesn't regret it.
He has more fun at Chick-Fil-A or the park than he does playing with his blocks in his playroom.
Every now and again we even see his tiny 4-year-old friends from school out and about.
He thrives when he rides his bike outside, even though he falls sometimes.
He might get exhausted from attempting the monkey bars time and time again.
Yet, not once has he seemed to regret leaving the house and it's still what he prefers and loudly voices when I tell him to put on his shoes for the 77th time.
Comfortable places do that to us, they keep us in them and trick us into thinking that we belong in them 24/7.
Home isn't bad. It can be good, and YES you should absolutely take it easy every now and then.
Yet, when you get out of wherever you are currently calling "home" and dive headfirst into something new, even if it's the monkey bars or riding your bike without training wheels, you could end up thriving.
If your comfort zone is anything like mine, or a certain 4-year-olds, it's probably a pretty cool place filled with some of your favorite things. It might be silently taunting you and telling you to stay there forever and ever. Perhaps it's telling you that it is the best place for you right now and perhaps you have been following that lil' voice in your head telling you to stay cozy forever.
When you do leap out of your comfort zone, you might just find that the monkey bars are pretty fun, that Chick-Fil-A has good chicken, and that though your home is great, you don't need to stay in hiding forever.
I might not know what your comfort zone is or what part of leaving home scares you like crazy. However, what I can tell you is that taking risks will help you grow and that you will find that the world is big and scary, yet oh so beautiful.
I know that I have to take note from the 4-year-olds in my life.
Comfort zones don't need to keep us from missing out on the monkey bars of our lives anymore.
