Escaping Comfort

I am once again here to talk about motivating yourself. Now I know I'm beginning to sound like a broken record, but it's different this time. I'm not here to tell you how hard it is find motivation, how difficult it is to get time to be motivated, or how impossible it seems to get started once you are motivated. I'm not here to talk about small projects, I'm talking about your life.

I'm sure most of us have been in a situation where we look at our lives, we realize we're not exactly where we want to be. We think about a crumby job, or a lackluster living situation. We realize we don't have the money or free times we want or need... We feel restless and just want to get moving forward to that person we always thought we could be as a child. So we stand up, we take a big breath, we make a promise to ourselves to change. That's right, I'm going to find a better job! I'm gonna work more to make more money, I'm gonna take the time I need to relax and get my stress down! I'm gonna change!

Then what happens? You wake up the next day, and it's the same old life... You don't make those steps, why? Because what you have now, while not what you want, is stable. Change is scary, its uncertain... Whatever you have now, it may not be ideal, but it's working. You have a job, you have a home, food, and some extra cash now and again. You sometimes have the time to go out with friends... It's not what you want, but it's comfortable.

What does it take to make us move forward, to give up what we have for what we want? That job that bores you, it keeps you fed. That home that's too small for your family, it keeps you warm at night. What has to happen to make you look for something better? Do you have to lose that job, that home, do you have to be put in a place where it's move forward or die? Why can't we just take it on ourselves and seek out something new, something that will make us happy?

Ask yourself these questions. Look at your life, are you happy or merely comfortable? How many times do you tell yourself things will change, and then make no move to change them? Do me a favor, next time you feel that swell of confidence, that uplifting desire to get your life on track, don't let the passion dwindle. Hurry and get to it before the simple comfort of what you have now dulls it back into your subconscious. Make the moves towards the changes you want, make them now while you still are comfortable, so you know your grasping for what you want, not what you need.

Are you happy, or merely comfortable?