When Ambition and Comfort Collide

A is for Ambition

When Ambition Collides With the Comfort Zone

If you are a person with a serious case of ambition-itis coupled with being confined to a comfort zone, you must be at your wits end.  An ambitious person stuck in a comfort zone is like walking in place: there is movement but no advancement towards your destination.  Or even worse if you can imagine two worlds colliding.

Ambition-itis

Well, it’s not really a word, but let’s go with the root word ambition and a classic definition using Oxford Dictionaries version:  “A strong desire to do or to achieve something, typically requiring determination and hard work.” Thousands upon thousands of ambitious people exist in this world of ours. They set their sights on a goal no matter how lofty it might seem.  Until they achieve that goal, the very thought of the prized achievement fuels their desires.  While some are better at carefully and strategically calculating their every move, others do not let the lack of a plan stop them from pressing forward.  The closer they get to it, the more propelled they become.  They never give up or give in.

Confined to a Comfort Zone

This presents a real problem for an ambitious and goal oriented individual.  Imagine having a burning desire to do something but feeling trapped by an invisible wall a.k.a. the comfort zone.  Imagine that you’re caged in by fear. The fear stems from an imaginary event that you have convinced yourself will occur should you leave the safety of your comfort zone. A prison is a place meant for those convicted of a crime.  But even after time has been served, prisoners are free to go. And yet some people are imprisoned by their minds and although free to come, go, achieve…..they remain caged in by comfort.  A life lived only in the mind.  Where does that leave you?

Stuck With Only One Way Out

There is only one way out of the comfort zone and that is to feel the fear and do it anyway.  Without challenging the fear and backing fear into a corner, you will always be the cornerstone that provides the foundation for fear to firmly stand.  If you ever want to escape then you have to take the next exit and get off of your current comfort course and venture onto the highway that challenges fear and escalates you to new levels.  Otherwise, the life you live inside of your head will become an ache inside of your heart.

There is a way out if you want out.  It’s not always easy and it’s not always swift but even at a snails pace is better than walking in place.

photo credit: Kurayba Exit Purple via photopin (license)

There is a life waiting to lived outside of your comfort zone.  Take the next exit and live that life. Charita H. Cadenhead, Exit Strategist.