After a workout yesterday while doing my stretches, my 7 year old decided to join me. Unfortunately she has me as a mother and I was insistent on her getting her form right… so when it came to stretching hamstrings on the floor with legs wide I told her to get her nose to her knee. She tried this then looked at me and said “I can’t, it hurts.”

It occurred to me then that perhaps it’s not common knowledge to people that it’s ok to hurt. I think the saying No pain No gain has just become a phrase which we’re rather numb too. Why is it we think we can get anywhere sitting on the couch?

Is your comfort zone holding you back? Now.. before you go jumping to conclusions I’m not saying you should never be comfortable! But if you’re never uncomfortable you’ll never change.

There are plenty of ways to get stuck in comfy mode. Of course, the couch is comfortable… but so is a casserole. Many of us grew up on the good ol meat and three vege, but is that where you’ve got stuck and become comfortable? Is there other food ideas or recipes you’re scared to try cos it might not work? It might taste different? It might not be your favourite thing ever? How will you know if you keep chowing down on casserole? In our house we have a rule with new foods, “you don’t have to like it, you just have to try it.” I don’t expect everyone to eat the stuff I eat, as some of it is pretty odd, but I don’t expect people to say it’s disgusting without being fully informed.

When Dave and I first lived together we existed on the Old Elpaso diet… packet meals were our staple, (which is ironic as they are probably nutritionally similar to staples) and it has taken many years of experimenting and training to get to the array of food we eat now, and at times… it was uncomfortable. Not like we were in pain after eating but when you put hard work in to a meal and you’re not sure what it will taste like it can be a bit nerve wracking. But do I regret it? Not in the slightest. Along the way I have discovered some of the best food I’ve ever eaten, I’ve learnt to cook from scratch which is such an amazing feeling, and I’m training my kids how to eat well. Oh, and before you ask.. Dave likes my food too… I always get guilts from people that think Dave suffers from my crazy food tendencies.

Your comfort zone is robbing you of so many opportunities. I love watching people achieve things they had previously told me would never happen. I remember working with a client who was in her 50s and told me that she would never be able to lose weight or exercise due to her age and that she was wanting to just do what she could. She wanted to remain comfortable… but I wouldn’t let her. Since then I’ve watched her finish a half marathon and I’ve even been passed by her in a race with her cheering me on! Imagine if she had not pushed past the comfort concept she was living in.

Next week we go on our family holiday to Paihia with my folks. While there my parents have offered to pay for Dave and I to swim with the dolphins. I know most people reading this will think thats amazing but for me it makes me rather anxious. You could say it makes me uncomfortable. I'm not comfortable in open water and that is making me unsure about it. But when I talked to Dave about it he reminded me of our visit to Sea World. While there they had a big pool of stingrays that you could reach in and "pat". I didn't want to do this (thanks Steve Irwin for making me scared of stingrays), so as a loving husband does, Dave grabbed my hand and forced it under to touch the stingray. Once he'd done that I was ok with it and it was the highlight of my trip. Again, an experience I would have missed if being a spectator from my comfort zone.

I hate to be cheesey here but I’m gonna crack out the cliché hero analogies… would Ed Hillary have gotten to the top of Everest from his comfort zone? I’m fairly sure it was rather uncomfortable for him at times and even though he loved mountains and snow and all that jazz, I don’t think it was a comfort to him. I love the saying (yes, I love many sayings.. I’m a walking motivational poster) “Anything worth having is worth working for”. Tell me one thing you’ve done that has changed your life while watching TV. Now I know there will be plenty of sarcastic responses to this… but if that’s the case then you’ve missed my point and that’s your loss. My point is, change will not come to you and sit in your lap. Get up, move, make it hurt, sweat a little… no, sweat a lot! And the ironic thing you will find is that at the end of it, you’ll feel better, you’ll feel happy, you’ll feel like you could maybe, just maybe do that again tomorrow. ;)

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