[b][/b]I met Elvis at the gym and we ended up becoming friends. I was in his house on a visit one Sunday afternoon when he opened up this discussion. “I struggled to finish my secondary education. I was raised by a single parent. My father was expected to have taken a second wife but the idea was dead on arrival. Why he did so, he didn't explain to me. As soon as I was done with secondary school, I had to go off to learn a trade. I settled for the cement business. I led a normal life and made just enough money to put food on the table and take care of my basic needs. I knew my life could be better but I was just okay with what I had. I kept managing until I got married. Even at this point, I was okay with what life I was living.”

He offered to get a bottle of malt for me but I declined. He continued. “One day, I sat down and went soul searching about my life. That was the day it dawned on me that I was living beyond my full potential. Yet, this realization was not enough to spur me into action- you know what they say about comfort zones not bearing new dreams. But after I lost my dad and had to fund his burial ceremony, I began to struggle. Putting food on the table became an issue. There were times my family had just one square meal a day. My situation became pronounced when my rent became delayed. The landlord who got fed up with my antics to cover my inability to pay served us a quit notice. My family and I moved from a three-bedroom apartment to one room. Even at this point, I was still being told that my challenges were traced to my ancestors who were unhappy over an incident that happened so many decades ago. An incident that no one could say.”

Elvis said, “Things remained this way until I got fed up with my situation. There was this seething anger about the key decisions that I had taken in the past. It became clear the mediocre life that I was having was a sum total of those bad decisions. It was then that it dawned on me that nothing needed to change except myself. My ancestors didn't need to change- nobody but the man in the mirror needed that change. That was the day I sat and reviewed the key decisions that I had taken in the past. It was crystal clear that I was my biggest barrier to a better life. I was expecting change when I was comfortable doing the same thing all over. I resolved that day that I must begin to do things differently and better. I enrolled in evening classes and wrote the necessary examinations to help me secure admission into the university.”

He concluded, “I got my first degree and later went for MSc and Ph.D. I took off the lid placed on my reasoning(decision making) by the alleged ancestral curse. I laid off my manager who I was dating secretly. My eyes got opened to the fact that she was one of my business problems. Within 6 months of employing a new manager, my business improved astronomically. Presently, I am the biggest importer of sisal fiber in the market.”

REFLECTION
There are so many easy journeys we can make in life. But making that journey looks impossible because we don't take that decision to begin. When we become okay with the mediocre life that we live, it becomes normal. Our body and our way of thinking will begin to adjust to that very way of life. It becomes a comfort zone that blinds one to every other thing existing outside of the comfort zone. Elvis knew ab initio that he deserved more from life but he wasn't ready to ask for that more. But like every other thing we do in life, the moment he realized that he needed to make a choice and take action, everything changed.

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