The status quo is comfortable, and change is uncomfortable. Old patterns of behavior are like well-worn ruts on a dirt road. While driving we fall into them automatically without thinking because they’re the path of least resistance. At the same time however, the status quo can be painful. Maybe you (or someone else in your life) is not thrilled with how much you’re drinking, maybe you’d like to challenge your anxiety, or maybe you’d rather find a way to lift your mood.

Change can also be painful. It happens outside of our comfort zone and if you want to make lasting changes you need to be willing to be uncomfortable…at least for a little while. The discomfort you experience when you change your behavior will only be uncomfortable when it’s new. As you practice your behavior changes your comfort zone will expand to include the new behavior.

Think of your own behavior change, maybe you started going to the gym, maybe you established and reinforced new boundaries in a relationship, maybe you started communicating with a partner at a deeper, more vulnerable, level, etc. Those things were big, bad, and scary at first and now they’re old hat. You’ve integrated them into your life in ways that you previously didn’t think possible.

What helped you along that journey of growth? What tipped the scales so that the pain of staying the same was worse than the discomfort of changing? As you think about and identify things that helped you make your past behavior changes what can be brought along for this new change? What can be generalized from other parts of your life to help you expand your comfort zone once more?