Are You Seated Where You Are?

Years ago, when I lived in Eastleigh near Pumwani, my mornings followed a familiar routine. Like thousands of other Nairobi commuters, I would make my way to the bus stage and wait for a matatu into the city.

I had one simple rule: I wanted a seat.

Standing in a crowded bus was never my preference, so I would often let one matatu after another pass, hoping the next one would have an empty seat. It seemed like a reasonable strategy. After all, why endure an uncomfortable ride if I could just wait a little longer for a better one?

One morning, after several buses had come and gone, a conductor stopped and tried to persuade those of us left behind to board as standing passengers. I politely declined. I insisted I would only travel if I could sit.

He looked at me for a moment, smiled, and asked a question that has stayed with me ever since.

"Are you seated where you are?"

His words caught me completely off guard.

I was so focused on avoiding the discomfort of standing inside the bus that I had ignored the obvious reality—I was already standing. The only difference was that one person was standing still while the other was standing on the way to their destination.

In my pursuit of comfort, I had sacrificed progress.

Had I boarded the very first bus, even without a seat, I would have reached my office much earlier than I eventually did.

Looking back, I realize that the conductor wasn't just talking about a bus ride. He unknowingly exposed a pattern that many of us repeat throughout our lives.

We postpone starting a business until we have more capital. We delay applying for the job until we feel perfectly qualified. We wait for the ideal time to write the book, launch the project, repair the relationship, or pursue the dream. We convince ourselves that we're being patient, when in reality we're often just postponing movement.

Meanwhile, life keeps moving.

Opportunities come and go. Time passes. Others, who begin with less certainty and fewer advantages, slowly move ahead—not because they had better conditions, but because they were willing to start before conditions became perfect.

The uncomfortable truth is that we are often already carrying discomfort. We are already living with uncertainty, frustration, and dissatisfaction. Remaining where we are rarely eliminates those feelings. It simply delays the possibility of something better.

The bus may not have a seat.

The journey may not be smooth.

The conditions may not be ideal.

But the bus is moving.

So if you're waiting for everything to line up before taking the next step, ask yourself the same question that a Nairobi bus conductor asked me many years ago:

"Are you seated where you are?"

If the answer is no, perhaps it's time to board.

Because sometimes the greatest risk isn't taking an imperfect opportunity. It's standing still while life passes by.

Comfort is desirable. Progress is essential.