It’s so easy to get stuck in a rut. Even if it’s simple things like going shopping at the same grocery store every week, or eating the same breakfast cereal every morning. We tend to find things that are working for us and just continue. Or we can get stuck in repetitive thinking patterns that have just become habits. We may be stuck in thinking things like, “I’ll be sick forever”, or “I’ll never find a good guy/girl”, or “Life is just so hard”.
Getting stuck in our comfort zone is the limbic brain’s way of saying, “I’ll just stay where I am so I avoid the possibility of getting hurt by difficult emotions or situations”. From the brain’s perspective, even if things are pretty miserable, that’s preferable to taking the risk of trying something new. After a while, we get stuck in the rut of unable to imagine our life as anything else than it is right now.
Our brains are wired to create those ruts, and to keep us stuck there. Our brain’s limbic system, the fight/flight/freeze alarm system, is wired to keep us safe. Once we get comfortable with a habit, the limbic generally resists changing it. There are a couple of reasons. First is because that part of the brain prefers security over excitement, because excitement may just end up being dangerous. It’s better to stay in the old habit, no matter how boring or uncomfortable it may be, than to risk something new. Second, the limbic works hard to conserve energy, because you just never know when we may need all our energy to run or fight for our safety. Any type of change takes energy so the limbic will be resistant to changes.
Staying in our comfort zone does have its benefits, but more often than not, we eventually get bored and life loses its zest! But as long as that limbic is resisting change, it can seem too difficult to step out and try new things.
One technique to begin to let go of those old unwanted thoughts and habits is to just get curious. Get curious what it would be like to live a full, healthy life, or to run a 5K race. Or be curious what it would be like to take a month’s backpacking tour of South America, or fly like an eagle over the Pacific shore. When we approach these things from the perspective of just being curious, it allows the limbic system to entertain the idea without feeling pushed or stressed to make it happen. It opens up new adventures that aren’t triggering to the limbic system because there’s no commitment or judgement, just the curiosity of what it would be like.
So think of an area in your life that you may be feeling stuck. Ask yourself, “I’m curious what it would be like to…” then come up with three of four scenarios. Sure, make a few of them realistic, but also think of some outlandishly crazy ones too. Tap into your imagination and have some fun! You may just come up with some great ideas to add some fun to your life!
What things were you curious about? What exciting adventures did you create? I’d love to hear back from you!
