Letting Go Of What Works For Something That Works Better

Here’s a simple parable. It’s about a cup and a quart. You really like milk. The more you can posses the better. You’ve got a cup of milk in your hand. There’s a quart on the table. In order to get the quart you’ve got to let go of the cup.

What cups are you holding onto in your life?

A common example: the devices we use to track and measure so much of our lives. These devices are great…until they get in our way. Another example: playing it safe in your career, doing what you’ve always done and what you’ve always known simply because it’s familiar, when over there on the table is something that might be better.

Letting go of something that works is always hard—the thing is working! But every once in a while it makes sense to ask yourself if something could be working a little better. This isn’t about taking crazy leaps of faith. We’re not talking about letting go of the cup of milk so you can chase a gallon of cool-aid! It’s about having the confidence to make incremental changes, many of which are often in plain sight, in the direction of growth.

— Brad