That well-worn pair of shoes might be comfortable, but are they the best choice?
Is wearing them even a choice at all – or is it just something you’ve grown accustomed to?
In many ways and areas of our lives, we end up not making changes, just because the status quo is so comfortable.
But those shoes might be bad for your back, your stance, your gait – if not your public appearance.
And yet, we keep wearing them because they’re just so damn comfortable.
And it’s not until we lose them or they get damaged and we’re forced to buy new ones, that we realise what a delight it can be to practice a little ‘out with the old, in with the new’.
This isn’t simply more of the standard ‘get outside your comfort zone’ malarkey.
This is about taking a close look at where you’ve become complacent, and asking yourself whether or not staying with the comfortable actually helps you move forward.
Because here’s the problem with the well-worn shoe: it becomes our crutch, the excuse we use to not take a big leap, bold action, that major decision.
Like my client Paula Mould, who decided last week to close down her web development company, which has supported her and her family for 17 years.
A good, stable company, which was comfortable, but: which had become her safety net, her crutch.
Relying on her company gave her an excuse to not go all-out on becoming a full-time artist, living off her art.
Big move, and inspiring too.
No more safety net.
I did the same thing a few years back: I had a successful business as a copywriter, but it was my crutch. It was preventing me from doing what I really love – which is working one on one with ambitious entrepreneurs.
So I shut it down, cut the cords of the safety net.
It was scary, but worth it.
What about you? What’s your safety net? What’s the pair of well-worn shoes that are keeping you from doing what you really want?
And more importantly: are you willing to let go of it?
