If you’re reading this article you are probably thinking about making some changes in your life. But you might have “friends.” Friends, or loved ones, that tell you that you’re crazy to make a big change.
This advice seems to become even more common if you’re at a point of stability in your life. You see most people want to keep the status quo.
I’ve worked with hundreds and thousands of people with their businesses and their business plans. I’ve found it most people really fall into two camps: those that want to make change and those that cling to stability.
Life is a little more complex than just asking people which camp they are in. People often say they are more of a risk taker than they are. Actions speak louder than words. You really have to watch their actions.
It’s my belief that the vast majority of people want stability, not change. But for some of us growth must be part of our lives.
So if you’re reading this article you’re probably thinking about some change in your life. You’re thinking about giving up one thing to get something better in the future. While other people are probably telling you that you are crazy. And you might feel it a bit yourself.
So I wrote this article for you – to reassure you you aren’t crazy.
Here’s five reasons, based on my years of experience building and executing my business plan and helping thousands of others build and execute their business plans, that you’re not crazy for wanting to make a big change.
There is something bigger in you
Usually if you’re wanting to make a change and give up stability to get something bigger it’s because there’s something bigger in you. What I’ve found is it that most people in this state of being know that they’re capable of more than what they’re giving to the world right now. They can deliver more value they can help more people.
And you might be feeling the same. Your current job, your current situation or your current business are preventing you from doing the big things that you’re capable of doing. And you’ve got to let this out — in some shape of form.
It’s hard to explain to a lot of people. Many of those that walk among us, our friends, our significant others and our co-workers, don’t feel the need to live up to their capabilities. For many humans (I would say most) the goal is just to reach stability so that they can breathe.
But for some of us there’s a hunger. A hunger to do everything were capable of doing. A hunger to use our human expression for as much as possible. A hunger to add value to the world.
So if you’re feeling like you need a big change it may be that you have this bigger thing in you. Unused capabilities, unseen talents or untapped potential. Whatever the case you may know it. You may feel it.
If you have this bigger purpose in you, you should know you are not crazy to want to get out there and share it with the world.
Life is about more than stability
You might be one of us. There is a minority of people that know that we have more to accomplish in life than to achieve stability. Many of those around you are going to want you to cling to this feeling and avoid change.
To them life is as simple as getting the things that everybody has: the house, the car or the trips and social status events and norms that everyone has. For the vast majority of people life is about grabbing and holding onto these signs of stability. “Adulting” as they say.
Many people believe that at some point we need to all give up our dreams, stop taking chances, have 2.5 kids and move to the suburbs (or some version of this reality). That’s what the movies portray and many people live some version of this.
What do others think I should do? That’s what I must do.
But for those of us with a bigger message and a bigger purpose we know that big changes unlock big gains. Big gains for us. But also big gains for others. For our fellow humans and for those we love.
So if you’re thinking about making a big change, or doing something big, it may well be that you’re one of the minority of people who realize there’s bigger things in life than having stability. It’s not about what you’re clinging to but about what’s your building and going after that matters in the long term.
Quite simply you see the bigger picture.
Maybe things aren’t as stable as they seem
You may be grabbing to something bigger because you don’t have a super need for stability. But you might also be grabbing for something bigger because you see stability differently than others.
For many people, stability is a good job, a steady paycheck and predictability. But in today’s day and age those things are becoming more rare.
We’re in a complex world. A complex world where what seems stable may not actually be stable. What we think we have and can hold on to may not be as strong as we think it is.
When I was about five years into my legal career I moved to a great law firm. A “stable” firm with a long history. My colleagues applauded me on picking such a great firm and being accepted there. I moved from one great law firm to another great law firm. In less than two years later the great law firm that I moved to was no more. They went bankrupt. In fact it took over 11 years to get parts of my final paycheck.
And where else have we seen this? We’ve seen lots of great leading companies that have lost their way. Read Jim Collins has celebrated book Good to Great and you’ll see that most of the great companies exist no more. How is it possible?
The truth is we’re in a world where things are shifting. What others perceive as stable may not be stable. You may already know or sense this. You may sense at some level that this artificial stability that other people perceive in the world is not as strong as it appears.
The truth is that those of us are learning and growing and becoming better are the ones that are going to succeed, have long-term options and long-term stability. Sitting idle, not rocking the boat and collecting dividends from our prior work will only take us so far.
You don’t want to get stale
Let’s talk about the sister of long-term stability which is not getting stale. If we really want to be long-term value-added and stay relevant in the workforce and the business world we need to continually grow. We simply cannot get stale.
So for many that are thinking about making a big change it’s about avoiding the staleness. It’s about becoming a better version of you. it’s about accomplishing more in the future.
There’s a real cost to not making big changes. That cost is a loss of experiences, growth and challenge. Experience, growth and challenge will all pay log from dividends that will allow you to be a more powerful business owner, leader or even employee.
So if you feel like you’re getting stale, that your skills are stagnating and that you’re not growing as a human you likely need to change to continue to add value to the world.
If you’re starting to feel stale the big change may be just what you need.
You have a higher purpose in life
Many of us know that we have a higher purpose in life. Yes, we have family, friends and loved ones to take care of. And for some of us our purpose in life stops there.
But some of us know there’s more. We’ve been put on this Earth to do more than just get by. We know our goal should be more than just to satisfy the standard cultural demands and be good to our friends and family.
Quite simply some of us are here to serve more than to just figure out our own survival.
And doing more than “get by” often means making big changes and taking chances. Often avoiding big changes leads to stagnation. And while stagnation will not hurt us for very short periods of time in our lives over the long term – decades, or even years – of stagnation will cost us tremendous growth opportunities.
You might be needing to make that big change so that you can do more in life. So you can capture the opportunities. So you can fulfill your higher purpose.
Conclusion
Don’t listen to others. If you’re thinking about making a big change and you know in your heart that it’s right – then jump out and do it. I hope that, for at least one of you, reading these five reasons you might want to make a big change will inspire you to go for that big change, to grab the opportunity, and to become the person you can be.
Become the person you can be not for yourself but for all of us, your fellow humans.
Do you really want to make plans that work?
If you really want to get deep into making great business plans, make sure you get my FREE guide “Planning In Light of A Changing Future” by clicking here.
Resources:
Future Done Right™ YouTube Channel – Check out this YouTube Channel for interviews and discussions about the future of business.
FREE preview copy of Business Blunders! – This is my first book and it looks at common business mistakes that I’ve seen in my years of working with business owners. This will allow you to avoid those issues in your business!
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