Author: Shirley Goh
Company: Urban Hygienist Sdn Bhd
Field: Healthy Home Environment Management
Position: Project & Business Development Manager
《After Stepping Out of My Comfort Zone, I Met a Better Version of Myself》
I’m Shirley. I come from a modest family and am the second child in my family. My mother has always been a very fair person, although she was also rather strict. When I was young and rebellious, I often felt that she did not understand me, and I sometimes responded to her concern with impatience. It was only after becoming a mother myself that I gradually understood that behind her strictness was simply a mother who did not know how to express her love.
In the past, I was actually very introverted and shy. When facing strangers, I rarely dared to start a conversation, let alone express myself in front of a crowd. But over the years, I continued learning, improving myself, and pushing myself to grow. From someone who was once afraid to speak, I gradually became someone who could communicate confidently with others and even stand in front of a group to share. That was when I realised that our potential is often hidden just beyond the step we are afraid to take.
I worked in the accounting industry for 16 years. It was stable, but gradually, I began to feel that I had lost my sense of direction. I realised that I could not remain forever in a world that was simply familiar to me. Especially when I saw my husband facing pressure in his career, I hoped that I could be more than someone who was being cared for. I wanted to become someone who could stand beside him and share the responsibility.
So, I left the field I had been familiar with for more than a decade and joined Urban Hygienist. I moved from Account into a completely different industry as a Project Manager, entering the field of healthy home environment management.
At the beginning, I was extremely nervous. More than ten years of habits and experience had to be reset. I was afraid of not doing well, afraid of not being able to keep up, and afraid that I might not be capable enough. But I also knew that if I remained inside my comfort zone, I would never discover a bigger world.
I am deeply grateful that through the company’s training and learning opportunities, I gradually found where I belonged. Today, besides providing professional dust mite removal services, we also promote air purifiers, zero-pressure memory foam mattresses, and essential oil products designed to improve sleep quality, with the hope of helping more families create genuinely healthy and comfortable living environments.
I have also grown to appreciate who I am today. I discovered that gentleness and attentiveness can also be forms of strength. I enjoy listening to customers’ needs, looking at situations from their perspective, and genuinely understanding what they need.
After changing careers, the relationship between my husband and me also became more harmonious. Growth taught me understanding; responsibility brought us closer together. Today, I work hard to balance my career and family while cherishing every day I have to accompany my 11-year-old daughter as she grows.
The person I used to be was always afraid of making mistakes. Today, I understand that growth itself is a continuous process of breaking through our own limitations.
I’m Shirley. To everyone who is afraid of change, I hope you will have the courage to step outside your comfort zone. Because many times, the real turning point in life is not something we wait for — it begins the moment we choose to take that first step.