A Reflection on Jobs & Comfort Zones

It’s early morning. The streets are still wrapped in mist, and the only sound is the shuffle of sandals on pavement. A group of men and women, some in faded baju kurung and worn office shoes, quietly gather outside a building with flaking paint and a rusted sign: “Kilang Beras.”

On the door, in taped plastic, a small white paper reads:

“Kerja Kosong” — Vacancy.

They sit on the bench, each person holding a folder, a resume, or simply hope. They’ve come here not just for a job, but for an answer — to bills, to expectations, to the haunting question: “What’s next?”

But here’s the truth no one says aloud:

Most of them won’t get the job.

Not because they aren’t capable — but because the system only opens a few doors at a time.

A System Built for Obedience, Not Creation

From childhood, we were taught to sit still, raise our hands, follow instructions, and aim for high grades — because high grades meant university, and university meant a job.

It was a good plan. In the 1960s.

Back when economies needed factory workers and clerks.

Back when security meant staying in one place for 30 years.

But times changed.

Jobs became scarce. Industries shifted.

Yet the system stayed the same — producing graduates trained to wait for instructions in a world that now rewards initiative.

We’re not lacking in talent. We’re lacking in reprogramming.

Across the Street: A Different Kind of Lesson

While the line waits outside the rice mill, across the road, a man pulls up the shutter of his small, hand-painted kiosk. He once worked in a similar mill. Got laid off when the factory downsized.

He didn’t have a business degree.

He didn’t attend a startup seminar.

What he had was a recipe, a borrowed cart, and the decision to stop waiting.

Now he sells nasi lemak wrapped in banana leaves, still warm in the morning air. Customers come — not just for the food, but for the story. For his smile. For the energy that comes from someone who chose to create instead of wait.

He glances across the road and sees the line growing.

He knows that version of life.

He lived it.

The Dangerous Comfort of Waiting

Waiting feels responsible. It feels like the right thing to do.

You follow the rules. You don’t take risks. You stay safe.

But here’s the irony:

Waiting is also the most dangerous comfort zone.

It gives you a false sense of progress.

It makes you believe that someday, someone will hand you your dream.

But dreams don’t come in envelopes. They come in courage, in long nights, in failed attempts, in showing up for yourself — even when the world isn’t watching.

From Obedience to Ownership

This isn’t a judgment.

It’s a wake-up call.

We’ve all been shaped by a system that taught us to wait for opportunity instead of make it. But that story can change — if we’re willing to cross the street.

To sell something we believe in.

To learn by doing, not by asking for permission.

To accept failure as a teacher, not a threat.

Because while the door marked “Kerja Kosong” may or may not open —

the door you build yourself is always open.

You just have to walk through it.