The big leap

THEY SAY that when we wait for “the right time,” we would just be waiting for the rest of our lives.

Certainly, I have to agree that there is no other right time than now. Even if it seems to be the biggest and most crucial decision in your life, you still have to give yourself a definite “Yes, I’ll do this” or “No, it is best to turn my back on this.”

Every situation has two facets, and there is no in between. There should be something concrete that will guide our path to the next direction.

When I stepped out of high school, I was so excited about what lay ahead. The curiosity and excitement outweighed the anxieties and uncertainties. But even when people said that I was in the best form to enter college, I still found myself standing between moving out of my comfort zone and staying where I felt safe and secure.

I think I stayed in my comfort zone.

People said that receiving Latin honors would not be impossible because ever since I was a kid, they had been so used to seeing my name on the honor rolls and tarpaulins, and winning school competitions and programs. Personally, I feel uncomfortable in speaking about my achievements. I tend to walk on the sidelines instead of focusing the light on myself. It is heartwarming that people have invested so much faith in what I can do. I keep their words as inspiration to do the right thing, and to achieve something. But then again I still find myself between leaving my comfort zone and staying where I used to feel safe and secure.

I think I stayed in my comfort zone.

Always I have stayed on the middle ground, avoiding taking risks because of so many reasons. I always think about a situation as a whole—magnifying the positive but still acknowledging the realities. I think of and list down all the possible effects of my decision, both its positive and negative implications. At the end of the day, I base my decision on whether this is the best not only for me but also for the people around me.

And I realize that I am not staying in my comfort zone. By making big decisions that will be hard for me but will be for the best of others, I have moved out of my “secure” zone. Unknowingly, I have been constantly taking risks, and considering big leaps in my life. And there are no regrets because these have shaped me as an individual. The learning and the lessons from those big decisions are formidable and incomparable: They make you strong and wise when you feel like breaking down in this world’s toughest battles.

Just recently, I left a topnotch company. I resigned because I value principles, attitudes, and morals above anything else. I can’t stand spending my days with people who have no respect, who lack courage to speak their minds in front of the concerned individual/s instead of talking behind their back, and who think highly of themselves when other people who have proven so much in their respective fields stay humble. For me, the true measure of success is not just being skillful and extremely talented; it is also the equilibrium of being excellent while living the right values and principles.

I am sharing this because it is one of my biggest leaps outside my comfort zone. Many people have told me to stay in the company, and they have presented a long list of reasons why I should do so. But I chose to leave. I chose to walk away even if it meant starting over. I chose to walk away from the competitive compensation and benefits. I chose to walk away even if it meant going to interviews and recruitment processes again. I chose to walk away because I cling to my values and principles. After all, respect and the morals that a person lives by should be more important than anything else.

So if you are on the verge of making a big decision right now, go ahead! Choose to say “yes” or “no” and don’t stand in between. It may be difficult to weigh all the possibilities, and you may have all the reasons to stay where you are. But sometimes there is always one reason to prove that staying won’t be the best.

Prepare to make the big leap now.

Jastine Isabelle Rosit, 22, a communication arts graduate of De La Salle University-Manila, is in the field of brand marketing and business development. She lists her causes as “quality education, environment conservation, animal welfare, economic equity and equality, and poverty alleviation.”