Why are we all so afraid of CHANGE?

If you know me personally, you may have heard me compare my recent year to the “frog in the boiling water.” You know the story, right?

Throw a frog into a pot of boiling water and he’ll jump right out because of the heat. But, if the frog is in a pot of room temperature water, and you slowly bring it to a boil, he will readjust his body temperature to accommodate the increasing temperature…. until it’s too late and he can’t jump out anymore.

So… what kills the frog? It is easy to say it was the boiling water; however it is the inability of the frog to make the adjustments it needed to that led to his demise.

I liken this to my life because for many years, I was in a slow boiling pot called the restaurant business. I LOVED what I did for a very long time, and even though I left the business twice to try other things, I inevitably went back to what I knew. The last year of being in the business, the water temperature was just below boiling. I was starting to lose my focus, my drive, my happiness; I was silently suffering through what I thought I was supposed to be doing.

“It’s what I’m good at.” “It’s all I know.”

“I’m too old to try something new.”

“It’s going to get better.”

No matter what I told myself, I finally realized that I was no where near where I was supposed to be in life. I was pushing my wife and kids further away from me with my inattention to our lives because of my burnout. I had lost all desire to create, inspire and motivate; things that were part of my identity my entire life.

I finally realized that I had to make significant changes in my life if I wanted to get where I thought I should be. I had to set a new course to find my true success; and I was terrified to try something new- but desperate to be ME again.

It’s been about 6 months now- and I don’t regret my decision one bit! I am finding myself again; I am reconnected with my family, my health and my passions. I am pursuing what I feel I NEED to be doing instead of what I feel OBLIGATED to do.

I am well on my way to creating the life I always dreamed of; pursing passions and living on purpose!

If you are feeling overwhelmed, out of place and stagnant… check the water- it’s probably starting to boil.