Comfort zones

This is a new thought. Something that just occurred to me this morning on the drive home after dropping the kids off at school. It will need a lot more thinking, and a lot of time for my sub-conscious mind to work on it. Maybe writing it down will speed the process up and in a few weeks I can write a well thought out and interesting post about it. :-)

It occurred to me that I am extremely reluctant to step outside my comfort zone because I have to do it too often. It sounds like a contradiction, but it isn't really. My comfort zones or my safe places are my home, my car, my family, my mind. I have safe routines, habits, interests, conversations - things that cause no anxiety. To live a normal life with my DH and kids, I have to step out of this comfort zone every day. Mingling with other parents, communicating with the school, going to the library, doing the shopping, making phone calls, unexpected visitors - none of these are safe activities for me, all of them have the potential to cause considerable anxiety, and some of them always do.

So maybe this is one reason for my unwillingness to try new things and experiences outside of my safe places, it may be a feeling that it is unfair to expect me to experience more discomfort than I already feel on an almost daily basis. Something to think about - finding a way to be kind to myself without limiting myself.