There are many ways to keep yourself safe. Your beliefs, your finances, your addictions, your busyness, your job, your obesity, your fitness regime, even your disability. You cling to things such as these, to keep from looking at the things that actually matter. You can wrap yourself up in these security blankets and you don't have to THINK at all, you don't have to FEEL. It is a very safe place to be... you can justify the means to the ends of the earth, but if you never take a risk, you will never grow. 

"You will never get to second base, with one foot firmly planted on first."

Try talking to a person in safe mode about taking a trip overseas with you, for example. You would think you had asked them to dance on stage in the nude. This does not fit into their safe zone, and they will not even entertain such thoughts. They will have more excuses than you can ever imagine as to why they cannot go on the trip. The fact is, they may yearn for an experience such as this, but it is too scary for them to consider. Change... it is simply too much to risk. But without the risk of leaving the comfort zone,  there cannot be any growth. 

So the choices are: remain in the safe, comfort zone, or take a leap of faith. Try something new, something different and see what happens. You could start small, one tiny step at a time, you don't have to jump in with both feet. With each venture into the unfamiliar, you'll find it easier to manage.  By taking control of yourself and your fears, you will broaden your horizons, and grow. 

"Courage is not the absence of fear but the judgement that something else is more important than fear. The brave may not live forever, but the cautious do not live at all. For now your are travelling the road between who you think you are ad who you can be."

Meg Cabot