The life lesson I learned from a German tourist in Kemer, Antalya when I was 17. from Turgut Can's blog

I think I was around 17 years old. It was my first few years in the tourism sector.  I was working at a hotel in Kemer, a district of Antalya. Two of us were on a break in a corner of the hotel’s restaurant.

I was constantly complaining about a lot of things. My body language, the frustrated look on my face, must have caught the attention of a German guest who approached us and asked,"May I sit here?"

I immediately invited her to join us, thanks to our shared knowledge of German. We offered her some tea, and after taking a sip, her first words were, “I am a cancer patient.”

My friend, finding the topic too heavy, quickly excused herself and left.

We were alone, and our conversation began.

She said, “What I thought was a wonderful life was actually a terrible one.”

She had a good marriage, lived in a beautiful house, and enjoyed a comfortable life of abundance.

I, on the other hand, was living on the poverty line, struggling in a field I didn't enjoy, trying to help my family make ends meet. So, I wondered how her life could be considered "terrible."

I responded by telling her that I saw it as a chance.

She smiled and said, “My real life began when I became a cancer patient. Now I’m truly living because I’m no longer in my comfort zone.”

What could be wrong with comfort, I thought? I looked at her face, and I could feel that she was talking about something very real, even though it didn’t align with my own reality.

In just 15 minutes, she shared her life story. The next day, she came back and shared even more. On the morning of her departure, she gave me her valuable advice for my soul, and then she left.

I never saw her again, but the first life lesson I learned was: “You have to step out of your comfort zone, otherwise you’ll wither.” Over the following years, this phrase came up frequently.

Later on, I read more about this and learned that a person's developmental journey points to four areas:

• **Comfort Zone**: Constant control, ease, a safe space, low risk.  
This is the area where we feel in control and safe.

• **Fear Zone**: Low self-confidence, problem-oriented mindset, being influenced by others, making excuses.  
This is the area where we experience a lack of confidence, create excuses, and care too much about the opinions of others.

If practices in these two areas can raise awareness and increase a person's level of consciousness, they can then move to:

• **Learning Zone**: Seeking opportunities, expanding the comfort zone, solving problems, learning new skills, challenging oneself.  
This is the area where we don’t fear challenges, develop new abilities, and grow.

• **Growth Zone**: Setting goals, having enough self-confidence, finding purpose, having a vision, motivation, and development, reaching goals.  

This is the area where we achieve the goals and dreams we set, overcome our fears, and reach our potential.

Thanks to that woman’s ability to touch the 17-year-old version of me, I can now easily recognize when I’m in my comfort zone or fear zone. I can move between the learning and growth zones with greater awareness.

I believe she is no longer alive, and from outside my comfort zone, I send my greetings to her soul.