COMFORT ZONE

THE DEVIL CALLED COMFORT

“You never change your life until you step out of your comfort zone; change begins at the end of your comfort zone.”  ― Roy T. Bennett

I met a girl from Spain two months ago, Jade (fictitious). We met on Facebook and from our interactions; I got to know of a massive idea that she had. It had to do connection with web designing and to lift the idea off the ground, she had to enroll for any training that would give her the skills needed for her vision. But Jade had a problem; she couldn’t find any training centers close to her home – the nearest being about ten kilometers from her house. Being a teen from a wealthy family and having had all she wanted within her easy reach, Jade felt that she didn’t need to go that far to learn an “ordinary skill” when she could simply watch some videos on YouTube.

 However, when the frustrations started creeping in, she was forced to abandon her big idea. Jade began to believe that she was working on the wrong vision. With this mindset, she started working on other projects that flashed through her mind. But, each time situation warranted her to step out of her comfortable home or environment, she backed out, concluding that it was either too tough or she was on the wrong idea. This continued until we met in May and she shared her frustrations with me. Thankfully, she reasoned with me as I pointed out these areas to her. As at the time this piece was written, she had attended three classes and was already making progress on her private vision.

Idowu Koyenikan in his book, Wealth for All: Living a Life of Success at the Edge of Your Ability said, “Sometimes it is good to be in uncomfortable situations because it is in finding our way out of such difficulties that we learn valuable lessons.” The journey to success cannot be undertaken by a mind that is not set to raise the stakes. People who will make lasting success in life are those who are willing to step out of their comfort zones and seek out for themselves that which they need to shoot themselves to limelight.

I understood the concept of comfort zone through a recent experience. My friend owned a particular cat which she never let out of her sight. She usually took its food to it in the cage and would often play with it in the evening. With time, the cat got used to this style, that even when the cage was left open, it wouldn’t make effort to leave the spot where it sat. Then one day, my friend traveled leaving her younger brother in charge of the cat. Because he was also going for a boot camp, he decided to leave just enough food for three days where the pet’s food was usually kept, expecting that it would reach for it whenever it got hungry. It was therefore, a surprise for all to meet the food untouched, with the cat looking less active than usual and nibbling at a dead cockroach in its cage. Apparently, it had waited ceaselessly for the solution to its problem to come to it “as usual.” Rather than go out of the cage to its food, it chose to stay and be content with nibbling on insects.

What we settle for while” relaxing” in our comfort spaces is often minute compared to our true potential. My teacher and mentor, Gbenga Adebambo would always say, “when you settle for less, you get less than what you settled for.” Allowing our minds to slip into the stage where we feel too stressed to push for more knowledge is an indication of impending frustration and overall failure. For success to be less of a mirage, risk-taking has to become a part of our reality. While this does not suggest irrational action-taking, avoiding risks at all times is a bigger risk on its own. If you will break forth from the common issues that affect youths in your society, you must also break free from limiting factors that also act as catalyst to failure.

 

“If you always opt for a safe life, you will never know what it's like to win.”
― Richard Branson