It’s always a little scary to do something you haven’t done before. During my senior year I still had to finish my gym requirements, and opted to take half a year of weight training. If I had known just how much I’d love the experience, I would have signed up for the last half of the year as well.
Our class would meet in the girls weight room, where those of us who were serious about it would begin training (there were some from the volleyball team who didn’t do a whole lot – and sadly didn’t need to as our teacher was their coach). We wouldn’t push ourselves too hard at first, as our muscles needed a chance to get used to the new motions. Often I’d come out of class sore, but soon enough I began to see a difference in my body as muscles began to build up.
During the weeks I found a pace I liked, thinking I was doing really well at the weights I was at. Then one of my classmates, who didn’t speak a whole lot of English, came over and started encouraging me to put just a little more weight on…the machines. Not on me.
“You don’t get stronger if you don’t try,” she said. So I tried. By the end of the semester I had pushed myself to lift almost 40 pounds more on many of the machines.
The same can be said of In fact, we may find ourselves growing weaker.
Trying something new isn’t always easy. My sister-in-law told me about playing singles for the girls’ tennis team in high school. Her coach, who she thoroughly hated, was always telling her to get out of her comfort zone.
As she puts it: “I had no idea what he meant by that and thought he was just nuts, until one day he actually explained it to me. He was trying to help me develop my game by pushing me to work harder so I could become a stronger player.”
In other words, he was trying to get her to break out of the same old routine. She continues: “When we’re pushed out of our spiritual comfort zones we can grow spiritually, strengthen our testimony, and gain experiences that not only help us and benefit us after this life but will benefit those around us as well, as they learn from our experiences.”
So the next time an opportunity to break free of your spiritual comfort zone appears, take it. You never know who might be blessed because of it (besides yourselves).
