Bloom or Move?
Misty Copeland was living in a hotel room with her mother and several siblings when Misty’s ballet instructor asked to move Misty in with her family and give her more intensive lessons and exposure to the arts. Misty excelled and became a world class ballerina.
After his father abandoned the family and his mother died, the scrappy teenager, Alexander Hamilton became a shipping clerk in the Caribbean. When wealthy and influential islanders learned of Hamilton’s high intelligence and talent, they created a trust fund and sent him to New York to get an education. Hamilton became a Revolutionary War hero, created America’s financial system, created the precursor to the Coast Guard, founded an anti-slavery society and a bank, started a newspaper and became the first Secretary of the Treasury. Would Misty Copeland or Alexander Hamilton have bloomed where they were planted? Probably not. Once they were uprooted, they thrived in their new environments.
Do you need to quit trying to bloom where you’re planted? Do you need to move? Here are some points to consider.
1. Often your current situation is static and is not likely to change. Are you in a job where people come to coast into retirement or where opportunities for promotion are minimal? If that’s the case and you want more than the status quo, consider looking for other options.
2. Your current situation is crushing your initiative. Are you in a relationship with a person or organization where there is no growth? Perhaps you attend a church where no one joins and nothing changes. Do you have a friend who has no goals and who doesn’t encourage you to reach yours? Those are situations where you’re not likely to bloom and you could actually start rotting.
3. The present is pulling you backwards. Have you ever picked up a bad habit from someone? Maybe you had a coworker who always came back 15 minutes late from lunch. When you had lunch with her, you came back late too. Or maybe you like to shop with a friend who lives beyond her means. Is it easier to forget your budget when you spend time with her? These are relationships where you actually lose ground.
It’s easy to get comfortable in a good job, an okay church, an average friendship. Staying put is easier than moving, but maybe you need to move to bloom.
