I was having a conversation with a good friend of mine and our conversation drifted towards the reasons why children brought up in well to do families, often seem to have a higher tendency of being complacent in life and, for lack of a better word, lazy thinkers. It was at this point that something struck my mind; “familiarity breeds contempt.” I thought this only applied to human relations but I realize now, that it also applies to situations.
If we take the case of children brought up in well off families, by being provided with everything and never lacking in anything, these children come to a point of thinking that that’s the way life is supposed to be. They believe that life out there is supposed to be like that. If by any chance, they leave their parents homes, they expect the same treatment out there and sulk if they are denied the same. They feel entitled to the same. This is brought about by the fact that this kind of lifestyle is all they know and all they were brought up to believe exists.
This situation strangely enough applies to the other extreme. There are people who have spent their entire life going from one tough challenge to the other. To them life has been one major struggle and lack of exposure to something different, has made them accept it as their reality. They have even owned and embraced it and they are even proud of it. We have heard many of them saying”sisi maskini”or “sisi mahustler” and they wear this tag with pride.
This I would say is a dangerous scenario because the moment you accept something as your reality, you lock down your potential and all the ability to change or rise out of a situation is totally destroyed. It is important to look outside your comfort zone and be curious about life on the other side of the divide. Take a walk down that road and have a feel for what kind of life people lead on the other side of town. This will give you a different and proper perspective of what life is all about.
It pays to sometimes leave the comfort of our homes, jobs, classes or even religious circles and seek to learn a few things about those considered outside your circle of operation. Don’t get too used to life in your world because if anything happens and you have to leave that warm comfortable nest, you may not survive the cold out there. Our immunity is boosted and activated by our exposure to most illnesses. In the same vein, our ability to adapt to situations is borne from our exposure to these same challenges. You can’t learn to swim by reading a book. Common sense dictates that you have to get into the water. That’s why we have internships for fresh graduates. The sole purpose of internship is to give the candidate a feel for how things work away from the lecture halls. I hope you pick a few lessons from this but above all else, avoid getting too used to a situation. To read more posts by Mwangi, click HERE
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