I Was Taught From A Very Early Age To See That Cage Of Comfort As A Perpetual Death Sentence
As far back as I can remember, I’ve never been one to sit idle, content to let time slip through my fingers. I was blessed with too many talents, too much imagination, and an unshakable drive to move forward. The thought of stagnation has always haunted me. Now, at an older age, I see many of my peers settling into nostalgia, their conversations dominated by “remember when” and “back in the day.” But what about the present? What about the opportunities that still exist right now? Born and raised in New York City, I was surrounded by constant motion, ambition, and an undeniable energy. I grew up in South Richmond Hill, Queens, near the Jamaica Queens borderline, an area that embodied the hustle, resilience, and diversity of New York life. Meanwhile, Astoria, Queens, was recognized as the most culturally diverse place on the planet—a reminder of the boundless opportunities available to those willing to embrace change. Yet, I’ve watched so many people resign themselves to a comfortable cage, too afraid to push beyond the familiar.
The reality is, comfort can be deceptive. Many people believe they are content, but deep down, they’re restless, unfulfilled, and haunted by the opportunities they never took. They sit back like old relics collecting dust, convincing themselves that their best years are behind them. But what they fail to realize is that life rewards those who step into the unknown. Whether it’s through physical travel, intellectual challenges, or simply picking up a new skill, growth only happens when we dare to break free from routine. I’ve never feared failure. I’ve never let the words of naysayers dictate my path. If I had, I would have never become a bodybuilder when I was told I was too small, too soft, and not cut out for it. But I refused to accept their limitations, and I surpassed them all.
That mindset was instilled in me from a young age. I remember being six years old when my father bought me a unicycle. Mastering a bicycle was one thing, but challenging gravity itself was another. I fell countless times, but quitting was never an option. I kept getting back up until I conquered it. It wasn’t just about learning a skill; it was about conditioning my mind to push past failure, to embrace difficulty, and to trust that persistence would always yield results. My parents didn’t just speak words of encouragement—they placed me in situations where I had to execute those lessons, where I had to internalize the reality that no challenge was too great if I was willing to put in the effort.
This is why I reject the idea of mental chains. No person, no place, no system, and no ideology can confine me. I refuse to be trapped by self-imposed limitations or by the fears of those too timid to chase their ambitions. There are people who will discourage you—not because you lack ability, but because your courage exposes their cowardice. They don’t want to be reminded of what they could have been. They want you to stay in the cage with them, because your success makes them uncomfortable. But comfort is not success. Comfort is a slow death.
Life is movement. Growth is uncomfortable. Evolution demands risk. If you’re unwilling to step beyond the walls of familiarity, you’ve already surrendered. The greatest tragedy isn’t failure—it’s never trying at all. Whatever your dream, whatever your ambition, the key is to understand that nothing truly holds you back but the limits you accept. You can either collect dust or collect experiences. The choice is yours.
The Trap You Don’t Even See
Most people don’t even realize they’re trapped. They wake up, go to work, scroll through their phones, watch TV, and repeat. They think they’re free because they can go where they want, buy what they want, and entertain themselves endlessly. But what if I told you that freedom isn’t about moving within the system—it’s about escaping it?
Imagine a wild animal that has fought its entire life—hunting, struggling, surviving. Then one day, it’s placed in a comfortable enclosure. No predators, no hunger, no stress. At first, it resists. It feels the bars, senses the limits, knows it’s trapped. But over time, something changes. It stops fighting. It stops yearning for the wild. And then the most terrifying thing happens: the cage door opens, but it doesn’t leave.
That’s you. That’s most people. Sitting in a cage with the door wide open, refusing to step out because they’ve been seduced by comfort. And comfort, my friends, is the most dangerous trap ever created. It doesn’t hurt, it doesn’t scream, it doesn’t warn you—it just numbs you, bit by bit, until you forget what it even felt like to be alive.
Comfort: The Most Dangerous Drug on the Planet
You were sold a dream—that life’s ultimate goal is to reach a place of stability, where everything is predictable, easy, and safe. A steady paycheck, a nice home, a routine that never challenges you. But let me ask you this:
What stories does a person have who never took risks?
What victories can someone claim if they never fought?
What kind of life is one where you never had to struggle?
The answer? Nothing.
Comfort is a drug. It lulls you into complacency, whispering that “good enough” is enough. It tricks you into believing that questioning your reality is dangerous. It tells you to stay put, keep your head down, and avoid rocking the boat.
Society feeds this addiction every single day.
Entertainment that distracts you but never inspires you.
Social media that makes you feel busy but accomplishes nothing.
Jobs that pay you just enough to survive but never enough to escape.
An education system that teaches obedience, not freedom.
Your cage doesn’t have bars—it has distractions. And the worst part? You defend it.
The Fear of Escape: Why You Attack Those Who Try
The system doesn’t just want you to stay in the cage—it wants you to defend it. That’s why every time someone dares to break free, they’re ridiculed, attacked, and labeled as “crazy” or “irresponsible.” Why? Because their escape is a mirror to everyone else’s cowardice.
When you see someone take risks, go after their dreams, or reject the script that was written for them, it forces you to acknowledge how little you’ve done. And that’s uncomfortable. Instead of admitting that you’re afraid, you tear them down. You whisper doubts into their ears:
“What if you fail?”
“You’re being unrealistic.”
“You should be grateful for what you have.”
You convince them to stay—not because you care about their well-being, but because their courage exposes your cowardice. I don’t stay around people like that for very long. “I get GHOST!”
The Brutal Truth: No One Is Coming to Save You
Read this carefully: No one is coming to save you.
Not your job. Not your government. Not your family. Not your friends.
You are the only one who can break free from your cage.
And if you’re waiting for the perfect moment—guess what? It’s never coming.
You will never have “enough” money.
You will never have “enough” time.
You will never feel “ready.”
The world belongs to those who move forward even when they don’t have all the answers. If you sit around waiting for a sign, you’ll die waiting.
This is why the thought of sitting around doing nothing waiting for a savior to burst through the clouds has left them in a sorry state of affairs for countless generations while others are ruling the world after putting in the work necessary to succeed. AHEM! Do you hear me Black Folks?
Your Choice: Discomfort or Regret?
There are only two paths in life:
- The pain of discomfort—the struggle, the uncertainty, the fear of failure.
-
The pain of regret—the slow realization that you wasted your life waiting for the right time.
One pain lasts a moment. The other lasts a lifetime.
If you stay in the cage, you will wake up one day and realize:
You played it safe, but you never truly lived.
You followed the rules, but you never felt free.
You let fear dictate your choices, and now it’s too late.
That moment, when you see everything you could have been but didn’t have the courage to become? That’s hell.
The Cage Is Open—Will You Walk Out?
Look at your life. Strip away the excuses, the justifications, the distractions. Be brutally honest with yourself. Are you truly living, or are you just existing?
Because here’s the final truth:
If you’re waiting for someone to give you permission to live, you’ll be waiting forever.
If you’re waiting for fear to disappear before you take action, you’ll never move.
If you keep playing it safe, you’ll die with a list of regrets.
The cage has been open this entire time. The only question is: Are you finally ready to walk out?
No More Excuses: Live or Die Trying
If you are not pushing yourself beyond your comfort zone, you are already dead. A walking corpse. You might be breathing, but you are not living. The cage you refuse to break out of is killing you—slowly, silently, and surely. It’s choking the seeds of greatness that your Creator placed within you, suffocating the potential you were born with. And make no mistake—you will have to answer for it. You will have to stand before your Maker and explain why you squandered the time, the talents, and the opportunities that were given to you. You will have to explain why you chose ease over evolution, why you settled for mediocrity when you were meant for more. There is no excuse. You were not put here just to work a job, pay your bills, go home, watch TV, and blindly give your hard-earned money to a pastor who sells you dreams while you sit idly, waiting for salvation. No savior is coming through the clouds to rescue you from the life you refuse to build.
Especially in the Black community, this disease of comfort and passivity is destroying us. Too many of our people are sitting back, indulging in distractions, seeking pleasure while avoiding the real work. Our communities are in shambles, and instead of rolling up our sleeves and getting to work, too many are praying for a miracle, waiting for some divine intervention while doing absolutely nothing to change their condition. That’s not faith—that’s laziness. That’s cowardice. You will be in for a rude awakening if you think you can waste this life and be rewarded for it in the next. Because we were not put here to coast. We were put here to struggle, to push, to fight, and to build.
Growth only happens in discomfort. Uncertainty is the only guarantee. If you are unwilling to suffer for something greater, you will never evolve. You will never leave a legacy. You will never know the power of your own potential. The choice is yours: either break free and take control of your destiny, or rot in the comfort of your cage. But remember this—no one will break those chains for you. That’s your job. And if you refuse to do it, then you have chosen your fate.
