I embrace experiences outside of my comfort zone.

The comfort zone isn't a prison. It's where you recover, and a life spent entirely outside it isn't brave, only unsustainable.

Cold-water swimmers understand the arrangement. The point isn't to stay in the water. It's to get in, stay slightly longer than is pleasant, then get out to the tea and the warm car — and to find, gradually, that the edge of unbearable has moved a few degrees without asking permission.

Stepping outside works precisely because you come back. Choose one thing this week that makes you a little uncomfortable and has a clear end. That's the whole shape of it: in, out, tea.