When Morgan Freeman says “Sometimes people get Insititutionalized” in the movie “Shawshank’s Redemption”, this is what he means :

Close your eyes and imagine a coral reef forming slowly around a tiny tropical island. The coral polyps are small and soft at the start — like your comfortable ways of doing things — but they’re steadily solidifying into a massive wall of rock, shutting off the open sea. Inside the reef, the water’s shallow, calm and safe. Outside the reef, there are big waves and the open ocean. And you’re still swimming inside. How does that feel? How much space will you have to grow? Where can you go — except where you’ve already been?

Over time, people develop a comfort zone walled round with old habits and automatic responses. Staying there feels comfortable, safe and familiar. There are no nasty surprises. Of course, compared with the ocean, the island and the lagoon inside your reef is an extremely small space — just as your comfort zone is tiny compared to your potential. All your potential is outside the reef. That’s where you’ll have to go to find and develop it. There may be sharks and big waves, but there’s also a magnificent world of possibility and adventure.