Craving growth and change vs. Staying in the comfort zone

A record of myself from more than ten years ago just popped up on my personal Facebook. It was a message that the instructor gave to the students when I was taking a psychology and personal growth class. Re-reading it now, it is still very much worth sharing with everyone.

You cannot change your environment, but you can change yourself.

You cannot change the facts, but you can change your attitude.

You cannot change the past, but you can change the present.

Doing what you have never done is called growth.

Doing what you are unwilling to do is called change.

Doing what you are afraid to do is called a breakthrough.

If you ask God for help, it means you believe in God's ability;

If God does not help you, it means God believes in your ability.

When someone pushes you to break through your limits, be grateful to them. They are a blessing in your life, and you may change and transform because of them.

When no one is pushing you, push yourself, because true change happens when you want to change.

The process of transformation is very painful, but every transformation brings the joyful surprise of growth.

I believe that everyone wants to make progress and become a better version of themselves as they grow. However, how many people are truly willing to consistently step out of their comfort zone and seek breakthroughs and changes in an unstable and insecure environment? Whenever personal interests are affected, people always tend to revert to their old selves and slip back into old habits, protecting themselves under self-defense mechanisms. Failing to persevere in the face of suffering and difficult challenges, they forget their original intention to break through and hastily retreat to their past, safe lifestyle. Under such circumstances, how can one gain new experiences and new wisdom from a crisis to help step onto a new level. Throughout my career in education, I witness countless students facing this exact dilemma every single day—whether they are teenagers, young professionals, or mid-life adults with families of their own. When they come for interviews, they are filled with words expressing a deep desire for change. Yet, over time after enrollment, their bodies and actions tell an honest story. They fail to persist and instead feed themselves various excuses, trying to rationalize their behavior. For you, who are also seeking change and growth, what does this truly mean to you?

Seeking education, growth, and change isn't just about showing up at a place, paying tuition, and attending classes—that doesn't mean you've learned or grown! Instead, it depends on whether you have the inner drive to push yourself to change, to make sacrifices, and to willingly step into the unknown for a breakthrough. It is about whether you are ready to cast aside the surrounding temptations, stay true to your original intention, and persevere to the end.

Have the courage to give, the courage to let go of the past, and the courage to step out of a comfortable life to work hard for your dreams. Only then will transformation come to you, bringing unexpected and joyful surprises. For those of you who truly seek change, please keep this close to your heart! Never fall into the trap of 'consumer-style learning'! (Just like a consumer, constantly buying services with money to satisfy temporary desires. They only passively receive information, never internalizing, transforming, or outputting what they have learned.....)

In recent years, I have noticed a very strange trend in many course advertisements. They boldly highlight how many dollars you can receive from continuing education funds or how much learning allowance you can get. For now, I will set aside the true mechanics behind these goverment funds. Instead, I just want every student who is genuinely interested in enrolling to pause and think: Why do you want to study this professional course? What is your purpose in studying this subject? And what does 'money' truly mean to you? If your primary goal is to master an outstanding professional skill and reach a higher level of competence to develop locally or to become globally competitive in the future, then you should have already thoroughly researched the course content, faculty quality, and background of the school when choosing your program. Money should not be your primary consideration. It is just like parents who do everything they can to send their children to prestigious schools in hopes of giving them a better upbringing; they do so because they believe in the quality of education and the capability of the graduates. (Of course, this is not a guarantee! It still depends on the child's own nature.) I still remember when I studied under my mentor with a very simple original intention: I just wanted to find the best master in Hong Kong so that I could learn to be a grounded, front-line youth worker fighting alongside those at the grassroots. Back then, I was just a young lad with no academic qualifications and no money. I never imagined I would end up studying at a seminary—let alone having to bravely break through the seminary's conventions to be admitted as an exceptional case, and even simultaneously completing two degrees (both a Bachelor's and a Master's). Throughout this ten-year journey, just like many young professionals, I worked while scraping by on bread, saving every penny to pay for my tuition, all while carrying the financial burden of supporting my family and parents. For a grassroots youth, the cost was exorbitant, often leaving me completely suffocated. However, I knew exactly why I was studying and why I needed to equip myself. I completed this grueling curriculum without any parental shelter or government subsidies. What I gained was not just a transformative growth, but a much deeper understanding—a profound realization that every single grain of knowledge was earned through hard bitter toil. This has made me cherish everything I have and achieve today even more. And it is my deepest hope to pass this knowledge and experience down to the next generation. Never assume that money can buy you knowledge and growth, or that a certificate proves you are full of wisdom. Recognize the true purpose of money, and use it to unlock the real value of knowledge. That is what brings lasting wealth to your life.

Sunny Tang Written on February 16, 2024