Leaving Comfort Behind

Sometimes, life comes at you so fast that you have to forget everything and throw comfort aside. One of my lecturers in school once told me that if you want to succeed, you need to get out of your comfort zone. It is very easy to get comfortable and relaxed in your comfort zone. After all, isn’t that what the whole thing is about? But change starts as soon as you decide that enough is enough. The past four to five years have been about leaving comfort behind and trying to survive outside my comfort zone. Life as a university student was draining. Sometimes, it demanded more than I could offer and the only reason why I managed to come out with flying colors was because I love good grades and more importantly, I learnt to survive outside my comfort zone.

In school, many students are no longer under their parent’s watchful eyes. Once you get to the university, you are free to do whatever you like; go clubbing, parties, and every other place. You are free to stretch your wings as far as they can take you. But the moment you choose to stop relaxing in your comfort zone, that is where change begins. Throughout my 4-5 years in the university, I barely sat in my comfort zone, but I had friends who did and it was almost too late before they realized it.

In my department, there were serious and unserious students. We had a group discussion one day and I got to know one of the department’s unserious students. His name is Tennyson. He was part of the people who missed classes. He only came to school when there were tests, presentations and exams. But the day we had the discussion, this guy impressed me with the way he analyzed a literary work. He spoke English fluently and carried himself with charisma. He broke down everything into smaller pieces. He did a better job than most lecturers would have done. I was dumbfounded. “This guy is so brilliant but he doesn’t take school seriously.”

We weren’t close, so I didn’t know how to approach him.I just left him that way. Interestingly, when we got to our final year, a lecturer noticed him; she noticed how he answered questions beautifully. She had a talk with him and Tennyson revealed that he doesn’t take school seriously because he doesn’t like the system. He doesn’t like school and he doesn’t see sense in it. He enjoys his free time doing other things.

My lecturer called him into her office and had a long talk with him. I don’t know what she told him, but the next week, he started coming to class every lecture day. He stepped out of his comfort zone- he stopped moving with the class’ hooligans. And of course, his life changed. Not only his personal life, but also his academic life. If he had stepped out of his comfort zone earlier, I’m sure he would have made first class.
Relaxing in our comfort zone can be dangerous. You can get so comfortable that it becomes difficult to move away. But the moment you decide to change, that’s when growth begins.

Image is mine.

Thanks for reading.