To register strength

"So Kyle, would you like to work on register?"

I have been working at a local Zaxby's for a few months now. This was my first job, and I was only hired for this job because my older brother pulled some strings from the Zaxby's he works. Regardless, I was thankful for the chance to have a job at all, and I was eager to prove to them (and myself) that I am more than just Vance's brother, so I have been working as diligently as I can.

"I... I guess I am willing to..."

My job is actually very simple and pretty easy. If you can sweep, wipe off counters and tables, and put things on a shelf, you'd probably be more than qualified for this job. My position is called "lobby", because basically I keep everything in the lobby clean: tables, counters, bathrooms, patio, trash cans, floors, all that fun stuff to clean. That's been my job since the first day I was trained, and if I may say so myself, I've gotten to be at least pretty proficient at it.

"Alright, great! I'll work you into the schedule for next week!"

This wasn't the first time one of our managers has asked me to work on register, and I'm sure it won't be the last. They all seem to think that I am ready for the register, unlike myself, who is perfectly content with sticking to sweeping (which is always what I tend to be doing when they ask me about register). I am comfortable with staying in lobby, I know how to do it.

The next day, in our Lit class, Dr. Vince assigned for us to go over Theodore Roosevelt, and when we read part of "The Strenuous Life", it kinda struck a nerve. Roosevelt challenged us to go out of our comfort zone and find obstacles, yet here I was avoiding my obstacles.

At work that night, I was frantically cleaning the lobby (we had a huge rush of people that night), and when I finally had earned some free time to get a soda, one of my managers approached me.
"So Kyle, has anyone asked you about working register?"
"Yes'm," I replied while looking away.
"Oh yeah? Well how would you like to work register then?"
"I wouldn't actually, sorry," I replied honestly, and her expression was genuine confusion.
"Oh, okay, that's fine, I just thought you were getting bored out there," she explained.
"Well, I'm used to it, but I don't think I'm ready to try anything new yet," I spinelessly muttered out, then excused myself to go back and check on the lobby.

While sweeping the floor, Roosevelt's challenge kept popping into my head. At first I tried to reason it away, surely it only applied to physical things, right? But eventually I realized that Roosevelt's message wasn't just about physical challenges (although without a doubt that's one of the things he was saying), but his challenge was to step out of ALL of our comfort zones to build our character. Keeping with what I know and getting lazy in it would only end up stunting my growth and keeping me from going forward.

After sweeping I found my manager again (ironically she was helping a coworker of mine learn how to get in physical shape and challenge her body), and I waited until they were done talking, then told my manager about my change of heart.

(sorry I couldn't find a link for the reading, it was just a part of the work, and not the whole thing, so I couldn't find a link that didn't have way too much more than what I had read...)