From comfort zone to success zone

Some people just want to be comfortable all the time.

Larry tripped on a broken curb and went to the hospital. 

After examining him, the doctor said, “I have some good news and some bad news for you. First of all, you’ll never be able to work again.” 

Larry replied, “Okay, now what’s the bad news?”

This fictional Larry in our story is not one who is concerned with success, perhaps all he wanted was comfort.

I have an old material written by Liza Jimenez talking about breakthrough from the comfort zone to the success zone.1 Liza says: Picture this...

A little child is crawling around a new surrounding when they notice – for the first time – a huge staircase. As this little one gazes up at the new apparatus, what thoughts do you think are going on in their mind? How do one-year-olds think about new things? How do they react to the unknown?

If you are around children, you know the response. They would say, “Wow, I’ve got to get to the top!”

Alternatively, do you think they would look up at the huge staircase and think, “Wow I’ve got to get to the top!” But, wait a minute… I didn’t go to stair climbing school. Maybe I’m not ready. I’ll just wait until I have my degree in stair climbing, and then watch me go!”

On the other hand, would this little one look up at the huge staircase and think, “Wow, I’ve got to get to the top… But wait. I might get hurt. I may fail. I’ve heard it said 22 percent of one-year-olds fall on staircases. In fact, CNN just announced stair climbing as a code orange! It’s too risky.”

Or would this one-year-old think, “Wow, I’ve got to get to the top... But wait. What will my friends say? What if I succeed? They may think that I don’t fit in with the group back in the sandbox. They might think I’m one of those snobby, famous stair climbers. You know what they say... It’s lonely at the top. I better not. It’s just too risky.

NEVER! A one-year-old wouldn’t say any of these things. A one-year-old is hungry for adventure! They have an inborn, risk-taking ability. It is their nature to risk! They see it. They want it. They take it.

Now, look at this: Every one of you reading this article knows this child; because this little one is YOU! You were once a one-year-old. You once had incredible risk-taking ability. You used to see it. Want it. Take it.

So, what happened? What happened to the natural risk-taking ability that you were born with?

Life happened. Circumstances occurred. Disappointments experienced. And you, like me, began to let fear creep in. Slowly and surely, fear began to grow until it was bigger than your dream, bigger than your faith.

Has life circumstances and disappointments silenced your risk-taking ability? Has fear crushed your hunger for adventure? The first step to getting your hunger for adventure back is to realize your innate risk-taking ability. It is your nature to risk!

And she is right, isn’t she?

Lucius Seneca says: “It is not because things are difficult that we do not dare; it is because we do not dare that they are difficult.” While Benjamin Franklin said: “Nothing ventured, nothing gained.” And Pearl S. Buck says it correctly: “The young do not know enough to be prudent, and therefore they attempt the impossible - and achieve it, generation after generation.”

Well you and I need to keep ourselves young. To be bold and to be adventurous. To get out of our comfort zone and breakthrough into our success zones. Don’t be afraid to attempt something new.

Remember, it was amateurs who built the ark. It was professionals who built the Titanic.

(Registration to Francis Kong’s Level Up Leadership 2020 workshop-seminar on March 11 and 12 at Makati Diamond Residences is now open. For further inquiries or reservations contact April at +63928-559-1798 or register online at www.levelupleadership.ph)