Day 51 of #LiveWell2017

We all have a comfort zone – that place where we feel safe, where we can relax, where we feel like we belong. A comfort zone could be at home with family or it could be getting on stage and performing. It’s definitely that place in our minds where we know we are right about something and in our circle of friends when everyone agrees about an issue.

Our comfort zones are a product of our conditioning – our habits, our rewards, our consequences. Comfort zones are safe places for us, but they are not where we learn and grow. Conditioning often produces frequent and predictable behaviors. Sometimes we develop behaviors that we are unaware we even have – like eating and watching TV at the same time or talking to someone while looking at something else.

Sometimes we develop behaviors through social conditioning – what is expected of us by our parents, our classmates, our churches, our social groups. That’s not always a bad thing, but sometimes our social conditioning keeps us from living our lives fully. Sometimes we have to break out of our conditioning, our habits, our unconscious behaviors to be ourselves and to fully appreciate life.

Having the courage to step out of our conditioning allows us to be more self-aware, more mindful. If we can be still for some time each day, quiet the mind and bathe in consciousness, we can open ourselves to genuine kindness and compassion and create goodness in the world around us.

How do you step out of your conditioning?