Get out of your comfort zone and embrace change

THE WORLD is like age; it never remains the same. It keeps changing and every change comes with new opportunities and challenges intertwined together. It is the responsibility for all of us living to keep adjusting and coping with the changes, without losing track of our dreams. The earlier we admit that change is inevitable, the better for us. Change can be in any sphere of life. It could be social, cultural, spiritual, intellectual, environmental, economic, financial, political and so on. This change comes both at individual and societal level. And in most cases it is always good. We should therefore never fear change. A success-minded person does not wish to remain in the same situation, at the same level for a long time. That would be stagnation. The message for us today is that we should get out of our comfort zones and embrace change. We should not remain stuck in traditional ways of doing things. I always feel sorry for business people who refuse to adjust, often raising arguments such as: “In our family, the only business we know how to do is farming” or “We have always invested in wholesale trade and made a profit” or “In this area, there is no other product you can sell and make good profit other than produce.” If someone makes such an argument relying on their experience and continuous research, well and good. But if it’s out of sheer rigidity, then Lord have mercy on that person for he/she is just adamant. How can you, for instance, remain rearing 20 heads of cattle which are not producing even 20 litres of milk every day while your neighbour has one exotic cow that produces 20 litres? How can you continue relying on your head to balance your books of accounts while your competitors are using software? How can you continue selling typewriters when demand is now for computers? Anyone who remains rigid and resistant to change pays the price in a harsh currency. I recall, during my childhood, we had no sophisticated technology to kill rats. We would mainly use a traditional mouse-trap. But today, I notice that we can’t easily kill a rat with that trap because they have learnt to dodge them. Even with poison, when we use it to kill one rat, the rest learn about that type of poison and begin to avoid it. If rats can change in order to survive, why not us human beings? We, too, must change and adopt to every circumstance. Change is possible. Even if you have a harsh boss, even if it is a difficult customer, whether it is a moody spouse, or an ailment you have to live with, change is possible. You can adapt to any circumstance you meet in life. I must warn that in the process of changing there will inevitably be some mistakes. But never fear them. Mistakes are the tuition we pay in the school of life; just make sure you pick the lessons and move on. You cannot learn swimming by just standing aside and watching people swim. You have to jump into the water with both legs and learn. Even if it means swallowing some water. So never fear change. Bake is the MD, World of Inspiration & founder of the Authors’ Forum in Uganda.