This past weekend I took my son to try out three new watersports: paddle boarding, windsurfing, and sailing.
He was excited… and also deeply resistant.
The kind of resistance where you half-hope the session gets cancelled because the weather turns. Or that ‘tummy ache’ is real.
Each time we approached something unfamiliar, his body almost said no before he even tried. But little by little, he pushed through the wobbling, splashing, and awkward flailing (and that was just me.)
What happened? He felt the thrill of learning a new skill, soaked but smiling and with some great stories to tell about his dad’s windmilling arms as he fell off his paddleboard again.
Watching him, though I thought, this is exactly how most of us behave when faced with real change.
We want it. We dread it. We secretly hope we can skip the messy middle.
The “safe” option - staying on dry land - is often the riskiest choice of all. Because safety has a cost: it quietly erodes your sense of aliveness.
Especially later in our careers.
It’s easy to cling to the stable and known.
But if stability is slowly numbing you, is it really stability? Or is it drift disguised as success?
I’ve yet to meet anyone who regretted trying something new that expanded them.
However, I’ve met plenty who regretted staying in the harbour, watching the tide go out.
So maybe the question isn’t, “Am I ready to leap?”
Maybe it’s gentler than that:
“What small step into unfamiliar waters could bring me back to life right now?”
P.S. Don’t trust the voice that says, “If it feels uncomfortable, it must be wrong.” That’s not wisdom. That’s fear in a wetsuit!
Photo by Adrianna Palak on Unsplash