[Starbucks x Credit Card = The Moment I Stepped Out of My Comfort Zone] ~How Choosing a Credit Card Changed My Lifestyle~

It all started with a single credit card.
The moment "luxury" turned into "daily life"

This solo journey that I continue as a Starbucks pilgrimage.

Even though now,
I do things that could be called a bit "crazy,"
like visiting multiple stores in a single dash
or aiming to reach 100 stores,it wasn't like this from the beginning.

It wasn't like this from the start.

In fact, in the past,
Starbucks was an "occasional treat"for me.
After payday,
I would bring my tumbler and order a latte.
That was Starbucks to me.
"It's a bit expensive."
Honestly, I even had that feeling.

What changed my distance from Starbucks like that was
a single credit card.
It was the OkiDoki points (now J-POINT) from the JCB card
I was using at the time.
I noticed it when I was casually looking at the redemption options.

"I can charge this to a Starbucks card."

And depending on the conditions,
it can be used at almost equal value.
When I tried exchanging the points,

"Doesn't this feel like I'm drinking Starbucks for free?"

This experience was the beginning of everything.

The moment luxury became daily life

Starbucks, which had been a "treat" until then.
But after I started using points,
the frequency of my visits increased a little.
"Should I go one more time?"
I started thinking.
Before I knew it, it had become a habit.

That's how the distance changed little by little.
Then came the Starbucks app.
I get points with credit card auto-recharge,
and Stars accumulate with Starbucks Rewards.
With My Store Passport,
the stores I've visited and the medals are visualized.
This is where the switch was flipped all at once.

"This is the kind of thing I want to collect."

When actions change, the world changes

Before I knew it, I was
collecting stamps from the stores I visited
and filling in the prefectures.

I had started doing things like that.
And finally,
"Starbucks pilgrimage"
the style I have now was born.

A step out of the comfort zone

Looking back on this change later,
there is something I can clearly understand.

That is

the moment I stepped out of my comfort zone

.

Until then,

I don't go often because it's expensive
I only use it in fixed ways

I was in that"safe range."

However,
rather than seeing a credit card merely as a payment tool,
learning to use it properly
using points,
using the app

with just that,
the range of my actions expanded a little.

Before I knew it, it became my 'new normal'.

Even if it's an action that takes a little courage at first,

increasing the number of times I go to Starbucks,
visiting new stores,
being conscious of stamps

as I repeated that,
it became 'normal'.

In other words,

a new comfort zone was created.

That is what it means.

Comfort zones are 'things that expand'

What I realized here was that

a comfort zone
is not something you just 'step out of and finish',
but something that expands.

That is what I realized.

At first,
I was someone who 'went to Starbucks occasionally',
but before I knew it,

I was using Starbucks daily,
visiting multiple stores,
and traveling all over the country.

I had reached that point.

The feeling of being in the learning zone

Right now, I am completely

in the learning zone.

I am there.

A little busy,
a little tough,
a little anxious.

But in return,

my world expands just a little bit more than usual

I have that kind of feeling.

Things that were once in my learning zone become second nature,
and before I know it, they become my comfort zone.
I believe this isthe expansion of the comfort zone.I think.

Surely, from here on out,

what I am doing now
will eventually become 'second nature' too.

And then again,

taking the next step forward
and going even further outside.

Through that repetition,
the comfort zone expands,
I think.

The credit card was the initial trigger.
It was about knowing the meaning of a credit card and its service details.

Just that.

But

my actions changed,
my habits changed,
and what I consider normal changed.

As a result,

my lifestyle changed.

And by changing, increasing, and mastering credit cards, which are tools for payment,
the breadth of my life has expanded even further.

Life had the same structure.

This flow
is the same in my career.

Not changing drastically all at once,

but stepping outside in small ways,
making that my new normal,
and then stepping outside a little more.

I believe that through this accumulation, my world
continues to expand.

In conclusion,

I believe the catalyst for change
can be something truly small.

For me,
that was a credit card.

And from there,

Starbucks
actions
lifestyle

everything became connected.

The comfort zone is something

you expand by stepping out of it and going through the learning zone

That is what I truly feel.

The reason I am speaking so passionately about this is
because I am just as deeply obsessed with the world of credit cards
as I am with the Starbucks obsession lol.

As for what kind of world the credit card obsession is,
please let me talk about it at length sometime
with a Starbucks latte in hand.

I also write about
"how small choices expand your life"
from a career perspective.

▶ Click here for the prologue