Right way up, feet on the ground, I’m inside my comfort zone. Upside down, body suspended in mid-air, gripping a couple of rings, I’m outside it. Inside it, I feel safe. Outside it, I feel fear. Going beyond your comfort zone takes courage. But it gives you even more.
My comfort zone feels like a cosy, safe, secure place to be. Low risk. Everything under control. A place where nothing unpleasant or painful can happen. It’s so very tempting to stay there. And I sometimes do.
But it’s false sense of security. It didn’t stop me getting made redundant. Or being diagnosed with epilepsy. Or losing a friend in a car crash.
I’ve missed out on many things through choosing to stay inside my comfort zone. A job I didn’t apply for because I was afraid I wasn’t good enough. A date with a man I liked because I was afraid he’d say no. An inter-railing holiday because I was afraid to go alone.
If I stay inside my comfort zone, it will shrink. There will be more and more things that I’m afraid to do.
But, with a little courage, I can expand my comfort zone. As I’m finding out as I train to skin the cat…
Last week, I could jump and pull myself up on the rings. But when it came to tipping my head back to hang upside down, I froze. Physically, I could have done it. But fear kicked in. So Matt, my trainer, used other – less scary – exercises to build my confidence about being upside down. By the end of the session, the small circle that had been my comfort zone an hour and a half before had got bigger.
As a result, this week, I could hang upside down, tuck my legs and complete a rather wonky landing. To begin with, Matt’s arms were reassuringly outstretched underneath me. I’d be caught if I fell. Not that he thought I would – but it reduced my fear to a manageable level. By the end of the session, he was the other side of the gym recording this video. Again, we’d extended the circle that marks out my comfort zone.
Week by week, we’ll continue overcoming my fear in manageable steps. Until I’ve extended that circle enough to skin the cat.
But why bother overcoming a fear of being upside down? It's not as if I’m not aiming to become a gymnast. What it gives me is very real and solid proof that I can step beyond my comfort zone. It gives me confidence to do more. Training to skin the cat is making me wonder what else I have the courage to do – and not just physically.