Hi, I’m Amy. I’m Stuck in a Rut.

June 24, 2005

Random thought of the moment: How much do you think it costs to make a penny? I wonder if it’s worth it.

Anyway, I just picked up a book called The Comfort Trap or, What If You’re Riding a Dead Horse? by Judith Sills, Ph.D. (Just feeling like I should include the Ph.D. part. Goodness knows she spent a lot of time and money to be able to put those three letters behind her name. I think she deserves the recognition. I’m feeling a little sassy about it–I don’t know why. It’s probably because I’m jealous. I wish I could put those three little letters behind my name. Amy Andrews, Ph.D. Looks good, doesn’t it?)

Alright, back to the book. As the title suggests, it’s about getting yourself out of a rut. The first sentence on the book jacket is “What would you do if you weren’t afraid?” And if you’re me, how can you NOT want to read this book? This is the story of my life. Yes, I think my horse is as dead as a doornail.

I’m only on page 36 so I can’t say much, but I like it so far. My only issue so far is that I can’t figure out if she’s advocating (or at least justifying) having an affair because it typically indicates someone is living “outside of their comfort zone.” I’ll have to keep you posted on this.

Anyway, I’ve got to say, Judith comes out with some really great quotes. There are some real doozies in there. Let me share…

We are the rocks we are pushing uphill—if and when we choose to make the push.

These [Oprah, Madonna, Scarlett] are people who make life happen, rather than waiting to see what happens.

We need to be comfortable to live fully, yet if we’re too comfortable, something essential dies. A life that is too much work erodes the body, but one that requires too little effort depletes the soul.

What was once motivating has turned mysteriously flat, done with. Your life has run out of soul and there is no obvious refueling station.

…stretch out past your zone and you will get a jolt of anxiety that will certainly get your attention [been there, am there]…anxiety is the invisible fence that bounds all of our lives.

The glory of self-propelled change—whether you want to stop smoking, stand up to your mother, get yourself back to school or out of it once and for all—is that you do not have to find all the energy, day after day, to confront the invisible fence of anxiety on your own. True, you must tote the burden of your fear and your ambivalence and the inevitable pain of loss up some psychological mountain. But the trick is to give this burden a little shove over the edge of your psychic cliff so it will tumble onto new ground of its own momentum, carrying you along with it. That little shove—in the form of one small step outside your comfort zone—will set in motion all the other changes to which you aspire.

She’s on to something here. It’d be absolutely brilliant if she’d include the transforming power of God in it all, but anyway…

So. There you have it. Deep thoughts. I’m afraid I’m unable to expound on them at the moment. It’s much too late. My horse is dead and so am I.

Category: Deep Thoughts

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