Maybe it’s having the twins, my grandsons from New York, back home again, that reminded me of a conversation I had with them a couple of monsoons ago: “What’s that?” asked one of them pointing to a huge shell on the ground.

“It’s a shell, with a snail inside it!” I explained. They both looked at it for a while, and slowly, we saw the snail’s head coming out and two beady eyes looking at us. Then the snail slowly started its journey across my garden.

“But if it’s not careful, a bird can grab it by the head!” they shouted fearfully, looking at the sparrows and crows around.

“Yes!” I said, “But if it’s going to be scared of those birds, it may never find food to eat and may ultimately die of fear inside its own shell!”

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Nadal’s foot injury caused him chronic pain for years, particularly during those crucial weeks of the tournament. His doctor accompanied him to Paris. Nadal also thought that the Philippe Chartrier Court game might be his last attempt. Yet he took the risk and played. T.S. Eliot wisely said, “Only those who will risk going too far can possibly find out how far it is possible to go.” In the world of sports, we encounter people who take extreme risks in life as they attempt feats like downhill skiing, mountaineering, rock climbing, skydiving, etc. It is such risks that take one towards life’s crowning glory.

People often fear risks, but risks are a reality of life from the moment of one’s birth. People are more worried about risks in the future rather than the opportunities in hand. This may be so because, it being difficult for us humans to think in terms of probabilities, we do tend to overestimate the bad things that could happen. However, taking risks can actually be a good thing, provided you do your research diligently and weigh the alternatives carefully.

For many people, taking risks is a rewarding experience. The success story of Jessica Cox, featured in this month’s issue (p 24), stands out as an excellent lesson for all to never say die! Indeed, never seeing herself as a victim of a given condition, she went on to prove all the doubters and naysayers wrong. She bounced back with a renewed burst of energy and enthusiasm every time she failed and encountered difficulties. Today, she exemplifies innumerable reasons why one should never give up in life!

Nikhat Zareen, featured in the cover story of this issue, dared to take up boxing against the popular choices that other girls of her time and age made. The orthodox society around her wasn’t very supportive of her choice, but her father’s unfailing support and encouraging attitude finally saw her achieve final glory. So don’t ever refrain from what your heart is calling you to do, however odd it may appear. Attempt the unknown and reach the moment of your glory!

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Our comfort zone is the place we are most at home. Within our comfort zones, there is little stress and strain. Many of us are reluctant to move out of our comfort zones. We feel great in our comfort zones, but that is not where we need to be. “A ship in harbour is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Getting stuck in a routine is easy to do. Comfort zones encourage in us an attitude of learned helplessness or hopelessness, making progress or evolution stiffer.

The capability to take risks by marching outside our comfort zone is the rudimentary or primary way by which we grow. In fact, comfort zones are not really about comfort, they are about anxiety or fear. We have to break the chains of fear to get outside. Once we do this, we will learn to enjoy the process of taking risks and growing in the process. While staying in our comfort zone can result in constant, stable performance, walking out of our comfort zone into a new task can create the conditions for ideal performance. Learning, creating, growing happen only when we step outside our castle and endeavour into the wilderness. People who regularly seek out fresh experiences tend to be more productive and emotionally resilient than those who remain stuck in routine.

Innovation or invention happens when we move outside our comfort zone. Being stagnant in routine often results in plunging creativity or ingenuity. Brian Tracy rightly said, “Move out of your comfort zone. You can only grow if you are willing to feel awkward and uncomfortable when you try something new.” Whatever goal we are trying to accomplish, no doubt, at some stage we will have to make a move that makes us feel uncomfortable. Greatness is found beyond our comfort zones. There are many ways to step out of our comfort zones and extend our boundaries:

Change your daily routine
Most of us have a pre-arranged and monotonous daily routine. By making small changes to this we can push ourselves to step outside of our comfort zone. We do not have to make huge changes or modifications. Minor differences in our day-to-day routine is good enough to transform our standpoint.

Change your mindset
Changing our thoughts can help us to travel in the direction we want. We should change our frame of mind. We should consider our comfort zone not as a shelter but a prison. We should learn to encompass profitable discomfort. We should select challenge over comfort, and set goals that compel or induce us to get out of our comfort zone.

Feel comfortable with the uncomfortable
One way to get out of our comfort zone is to expand it. We should design a goal to avoid running away from discomfort, and progressively enlarge the border of our comfort zone. We have to push the walls out and do not try to knock them down. Learn to be comfortable with being uncomfortable.

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You set your own limits

Have you heard of Bethany Hamilton? She was born and literally raised in the waters of Hawaii. As a child athlete she won several surfing contests; it only seemed too easy to wade into the waters and dodge the waves like she belonged there. One day when she was 13 and in the water; she lost her left arm and almost her life, to a vicious shark attack.

A shark bit away her arm, yet it took her a mere 30 days to get back into the water, this time with one arm less, but twice the determination and manifold positive attitude! Living without an arm was uncomfortable. But living without accomplishing her dream was even more cumbersome. Two years later she won the first place in the Explorer Women’s Division of the NSSA (National Scholastic Surfing Association) championships in America. Today she’s a professional surfer who lives her dream and never fails to look beyond the horizon. She fails to see limits because she believes there are none. She chooses her comfort zone and it appears that she finds solace in her struggles.

What is this comfort zone?

The comfort zone is an area where inertia and disinterest tend to overpower drive and ambition. It is a conceptual space wherein life is on autopilot, stress is minimal and risk, non-existent. In the comfort zone we feel protected and safe — like the tiny space under the desk where some of us have likely hidden on a dark rainy day when we were children; afraid of the lightning and thundering outside. But how much can we accomplish sitting there? We can’t hide under that desk forever. Someday the thundering might stop or maybe it won’t. Or it might stop today and be back tomorrow. When you become comfortable with the storm, it doesn’t seem like such a bad thing. It does take some resilience nonetheless to accept the chaos and keep working within it with zest and enthusiasm.

Why do we need to step out at all?

We like a worry-free existence, a predictable future and familiar people. We desire care, concern and attention. We want it easy and effortless, and we want it now. And the comfort zone provides just that. There isn’t much wrong with being comfortable. However; if we get too contented, laziness sets in, and we miss the challenges that allow for self-change and personal growth.

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Most days in life start with the usual chores, typical routines, everyday duties and responsibilities, and pre-determined processes. Many may call this life boring and mundane. And then some wish to make this life more interesting, fascinating and stimulating by daring to be different, adventurous or even out of the box. In general, life offers limited guarantees; the only surety is that of its end. It is that lone truth that drives each one to accomplish the best within our time here. That truth, in many ways, ought to drive each one of us to wiser choices and rational decisions. However, just because life is going to end, one has no reason to ‘not live’ it. Life itself exemplifies change, growth and revolution. Effort and endurance are options that you are free to take even though favourable outcomes aren’t always your choice. All human activities involve risks, some more than others. The potential that an action will lead to loss, failure and damage explains the urgency of making the right choice. But the thing is risks will always exist and that must not instill fear of diving into the deep waters. Rational and sound judgement can help outweigh the risks and add adventure without danger or uncertainty. Life comes with no duration of warranty but we still live it. And if we could, we should live it to the fullest.

Fear: an accelerator and a handbrake

Gavin de Becker, a bestselling author and public figure, insisted that true fear is the biggest gift of all. It is a survival signal that sounds solely in the incidence of real danger. You can never get to know the flavour of the tea leaves enough unless they’re dropped in hot water.

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