Step out from your comfort zone

Merriam-Webster online defines a comfort zone as a place or situation where one feels safe or at ease and without stress. We all have our comfort zones. We love to stick around the familiar, what we are used to, where the results have been predictable.

Change is not comfortable. It brings about stress. It portends risk and unknown outcomes. It means going somewhere we have not gone before or doing what we have not done before. There is a potential for failure or unpleasant social consequences.

Unfortunately for those of us that hate change, change is a constant thing in life. Things are always changing. Life is a journey, and we have to keep on moving if we need to get to where we are going. We were never meant to settle. If you stay too long in one place, your shelter can turn into your tomb as change leaves you behind in its wake.

Keep Walking

In business or the corporate world, you cannot stay in one place for too long. You start to go into decline. In some big organizations, you are moved to a new position every 2 years or so. In the business world, you have to be abreast of current trends or get blown away by change. Technology is taking some lines of business out of action. Business as usual is now a risky proposition.

The wind of change is always blowing across various markets. No market stays the same. It goes up and down. Rates are currently dropping in the money market. In January, they were rising. Those that have no other sources of income will be experiencing cash flow challenges. The stock market has tanked for now. This is not the best of times for folks seeking capital appreciation. The real estate market has slowed since the run-up to the elections. Different market conditions require different skill sets to make money. It is the best of times and the worst of times. There are always winners and losers. In the corporate world, many are wondering what will happen to their jobs. Those that are affected the most are the least prepared.

The wind of change is blowing everywhere. Looking back, we have been through this road before. It is a cycle that comes and goes. The big challenge is that we don’t seem to learn from history, so it keeps repeating itself. For many who have been around for a while, the consolation is that we will come out yet again. While that is largely true, things may never be the same again. While collectively we will get through this, many will come out with bruises that will take years to heal. The methods for dealing with yesterday’s challenges may no longer work today.

As the saying goes, if you linger, you litter. You have to keep on moving. That is why school is never out for anyone heading to the top. The work of personal growth and development is never done. If you don’t change by choice, the pain will do the job for you.

Many people don’t move until they lose their job. Many don’t upgrade their server until it crashes. Many don’t fix their cars until it packs up on the road (you see cars with their front tire twisted at a grotesque angle). Many don’t take care of their health until they collapse and it dawns on them that change is now a must. Many don’t move their investment until the market crashes. We wait for massive pain as a stimulus for change. We don’t see trouble coming. We are so busy ensconced in our comfort zones that it smacks us right in the face.

An investment decision that made sense yesterday may no longer be a smart decision today. We need to learn how to adapt to change or become a victim of change. We need to become aware of available options. The world has become a global village. Investors are now without borders. Money market rates may be less than 10% in Nigeria presently but that does not change the fact that it is in the neighborhood of 20% in Ghana and Kenya. The more you know, the wider your options.

What value are you adding?

Again, you cannot bank on one source of income only. Apart from your money working for you, you have something to offer society through your gifts and talents. The more value you add to society, the more society rewards you. Although I knew I could write, and actually wrote 2 manuscripts before I finished my WAEC (which were never published), I hid my talent and went to school to go get a good job. A good job then was in the oil industry. A decade or so ago, I was in charge of a publication in church and was forever chasing people to submit their articles for publication.

When I got tired of chasing people, I decided to write the articles myself. My colleagues at the publication had no idea I knew how to write. I told no one. They were amazed and encouraged me to keep writing. It was then I decided not to hide my gift anymore. Today, I am almost moved to tears when I get emails from within and outside the country thanking me for the difference my writing has made in their life. I keep wondering if that difference would have been made if I kept hiding my gift. I wonder how far I would have gone if I never stopped writing, hiding my gift while working to pay my bills.

Within each and every one of us are gifts and talents deposited in us by God to bless humanity. We become collectively poorer when someone hides his or her gift while going hunting for what to eat, lacking the knowledge that within your gift is your provision. The fastest way to become rich is to discover, develop and deploy your gifts and talents to bless millions.

The more people you bless, the richer you become. If you are still sitting on your gift and talents, one key area of stepping out of your comfort zone is to start giving your gifts. Start from where you are. A gift is meant to be given, not sat on. Don’t allow fear to stop you from venturing forth. Start with what you have, and work on it. Don’t go chasing a platform. Get prepared first. When you are fully ready, the door will open. You have stayed here long enough. It is time to lift your anchor and set sail.

Photo credit: sean-omeara.com