What You Don't Change,
Changes You

Last month, I wrote about getting unstuck and taking an honest look at where we are halfway through the year.

But awareness is only the beginning.

Recently, I wrote a sentence in my journal that caused me to stop and reflect:

We often treat avoiding something as if we are choosing to leave it where it is. We delay the conversation, ignore the warning signs, tolerate what no longer feels healthy, or keep telling ourselves that we will deal with it later.

But nothing stays exactly where we leave it.

The injury we neglect changes how we move. The financial issue we avoid limits our choices. The relationship we refuse to address affects our peace. The goal we continuously postpone can eventually become regret.

Inaction may feel comfortable in the moment, but it still creates an outcome.

As former professional athletes, we understand change. At some point, the game changed for all of us. Our roles changed. Our routines changed. Our bodies changed. The locker room and the identity that came with playing were no longer part of our everyday lives.

We did not always get to choose when that transition happened, but we did have to decide how we would respond to it.

That same decision continues throughout life.

Do we intentionally evolve, or do we allow an experience, habit, disappointment, or unresolved issue to determine who we become?

Most of us already know at least one area of our lives that needs attention. The answer may not be comfortable, but it is rarely a complete mystery.

The difficult part is putting action behind what we know.

Action does not always require a dramatic announcement or a complete life overhaul. Sometimes it means making the appointment you have been putting off. It means asking for help, submitting the application, setting a boundary, making the phone call, or finally beginning the idea you have talked about for years.

I have also been thinking about confidence. We often wait to feel confident before we act, but confidence is usually built after we begin.

Confidence comes from doing the things we said we would do.

Every time we keep a promise to ourselves, we build greater trust in who we are. We prove that discomfort does not have to stop us and that fear does not have to make every decision.

Leadership requires that same trust.

There are times when leadership means encouraging others, continuing to serve, and helping people move forward. There are also times when leadership means making a difficult decision about our own lives.

We cannot force another person to change. We cannot control every circumstance or guarantee an outcome. What we can control is our response, our effort, our boundaries, and whether we continue participating in something that is no longer productive.

As July comes to a close, I challenge each of us to identify one thing we have been avoiding.

Not everything. Just one thing.

Then take one clear step toward changing it.

Do not wait for the perfect time. Do not wait until every fear disappears. Do not wait for someone else to move first.

Last month was about recognizing where we may be stuck. This month is about choosing not to remain there.

Because what we do not change will eventually begin changing us.