So Wells Fargo was in the news again, and again not for anything useful. These ‘guys’ keep going from one gaff to the next. Thankfully I convinced my wife to leave them years ago after their second or third blunder (I can’t keep track) and so I know I am not supporting that behavior. And so I was talking to her and said: “These guys keep tripping over their shoelaces and keep tying them the same way.” And it got me thinking about continually causing yourself the same problems and not doing anything new to change the outcome.
Hence the phrase “If you don’t want to keep tripping over your shoelaces, try tying them another way.”
You’re going to get tripped up in life, most people know that is inevitable, but the reaction to getting tripped up is where a moment of through needs to be applied. Just jest react and tie your shoe the same way and then get mad when it happens again. But this can be difficult because you have always tied your shoes this way, and you don’t know how to tie your shoes differently, and it seems pretty uncomfortable to try to tie them differently.
So. If you want not to trip tying your shoes differently. And if you choose to become ridged and not change, know why. And when you decide to tie them differently, understand, and accept that the initial effort you go through won’t feel “natural.” You’ll feel like you are doing something wrong, get frustrated, and potentially want to go back to tying them the same way.
That uncomfortable space is the space you want to work in. That uncomfortableness is where you will learn and grow. And it will seem counter-intuitive to “your instincts,” but you must realize that those instincts are based on who you think you are at this moment. It takes putting yourself knowingly in that space and having faith that you will find a better way to get you to the next level.
This is so much harder when you are older because you have many truths your believe and don’t have that “beginners mind’ you did as a child. So get that beginner’s mind and put yourself in that space.
And when you reside in that space, you show you are willing and even eager to change.
I hope you learn to tie your shoes properly and can run and not trip again.
Author: Ekemba Sooh
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