THE NEW FRONTIER

There is always the ever-present temptation to do things the same old way. After-all it is comfortable to work with what we know, the people we are familiar with and the circumstances we know. You have heard the term ,”There is no place like home.”Of course ,home is your comfort zone .It is where you can be yourself,  where no one judges you, where you have mastered everything, everywhere and where you know how to do everything or put differently, it is your kingdom- your universe . However, it is also your box because it defines the confines or the parameters within which you are working. Through habit,  custom, environment, experience and exposure the spectacles through which you see the world have already been designed and they now help you to interpret the universe you have come to know. Your skills , creativity and innovation are now in the context of that box.

How about you get out of the box and you go through the experience of a paradigm shift ? I have spoken to many athletes, politicians, celebrities in different fields and professionals with achievements average everyday people cannot ever dream of achieving who say they feel that inspite of their achievements they have not maximized their potential and achieved their best. Theirs is an impatience that comes with wondering in the same, self-made box, knowing fully well that there is a world out there waiting to be experienced and conquered .If you have always been one thing-a nurse, a teacher, a manager or an electritian- and you are getting tired of it,  it is time to review why you are doing it, research on how you can do it better or have the boldness and courage to abandon it if you discover you have a different skill and calling which you can do better and you derive a sense of fulfillment out of.  Is it not tragic that many people go through life limiting themselves to do one thing-perhaps it pays the bills and they can not be bothered to do anything else? Ask yourself questions, research further, find experts and other objective outsiders who can help you see the world out there. It may be uncomfortable at first, but if it helps you become the best you can, then it is worth it.

Many companies, organizations, communities, institutions-indeed nations, have suffered the stagnating effect of the comfort-zone box syndrome. Methods and systems which were once useful and brought them huge success have been over-used until they have become irrelevant. Individuals who were relied upon and they produced spell-binding results can not seem to pull their institutions from the precipice of the present challenges. The big lesson to be learnt from this is that any living organism which does not adopt, adapt and search for new frontiers eventually dies.

So, get out of the box.

EDWARD NGUNDU

 edwardngundu@yahoo.com