[One Thousand Characters a Day] It's Okay to Start Now <2> - "Leave the Place You're Familiar With"

Editor's NoteAsia Economy provides daily 1,000-character transcription content for the 'Harumanbo Harucheonja' newsletter readers. The transcription content is carefully selected according to daily and monthly themes from Eastern and Western classics, Korean literature, notable columns, and famous speeches. This week’s featured work is ＜It's Okay to Start Now＞ by Jeong Hoe-il, CEO of Yeongnahan (English Training! I Do It in Korea!). It contains attitudes for learning to grow, the challenge of abandoning the familiar to seek the new, and concrete ways to dream. It also offers various motivational solutions to overcome difficulties encountered during the practice process. The text contains 1,002 characters.

Wild wolves leave their pack after about three years. Leaving the comfort of their family, they meet wolves of the opposite sex who have also left their packs and form a new pack. Through this process, wolves secure genetic diversity and grow into the mother and father of a pack.

We too must leave our familiar groups to grow. If the group you belong to has no dreams, hopes, or passion, you must leave. And you should go to a place where people who strive to grow gather every day.

This was something I worked hard on as well. I couldn’t stay long where I was. They didn’t see my continuous growth and treated me as the person I used to be. I was not satisfied with my past self or situation, and I resolved to 'change! grow!' So I boldly left the pack and jumped into a better environment to continue learning. That choice was right. I met countless new good people, and I could still meet those I was close to before.

Because my growth was fast, I remember not staying in one place for more than a few months. After a few months, if I thought I had grown this much but others were similar, I moved to a new place again. Growth requires constant stimulation.

There is a term called 'comfort zone.' The comfort zone refers to a space where a person feels low levels of worry and stress and can control their environment. It is also translated as 'safe zone.' You can think of it as a zoo. Animals in a zoo are safe but limited. Zoo animals are confined, but whether a person stays in or leaves their comfort zone is their own will. The more comfortable you are, the more you pay the price.

How about you? Are you walking in a place where you can just be comfortable? Or are you continuously jumping into places that provide stimulation, challenges, and advice? No one will call you first. You have to find it yourself, jump in, and learn.

If you truly want to grow, if you really want to change yourself, leave your familiar group.

- Jeong Hoe-il, ＜It's Okay to Start Now＞, Chai Garden, 16,000 KRW