MOVE IT

A couple of months ago I was having a conversation with a woman here in Nebraska who HATES the snow. By early March I am certainly not a fan myself, but this woman claims it makes her feel sick, and she has to take Ibupropen to stave off soreness from the cold. She is originally from California, so I asked why doesn’t she move back to the area, near her extended family? Her reply was that she must be here another 11 years, waiting until her 7 year old graduates from high school. That’s ELEVEN more winters of ibuprofen.

Huh. I’m pretty sure they have schools in California. When pressed, she said that she thought the schools were probably better here (she admitted she had done no research on this), so they were destined to freeze for a few more years. This woman and her husband own a nail salon, another organization I feel quite certain exists on the west coast, and the rest of their brood is in colleges all over the country.

It was an easy conversation had by two women while one was performing a service for the other. However, it stayed with me because most of us are similar in some form or fashion, making assumptions out of fear. How many times do we stay in an unsatisfactory work environment because we probably won’t make as much money someplace else? Or put off taking that dream vacation because it is too far away? Or maybe we don’t drop the mask and make ourselves vulnerable enough to someone else to make a difference in our own lives, or that of someone else, because we might be rejected or misunderstood.

I want to be someone who researches and questions, making informed decisions and ditching the need to protect, and someone who encourages others to do the same. There are plenty of real things to fear in this life, adding to the list without merit no longer seems reasonable to me. So, in what area of your life are you wishing would change? What information do you need, or encouragement are you craving? What do you need to help you move on in your life with intention? It’s about time for another visit to the nail salon, maybe my friend will be more open to the idea of change now that she has warmed up a bit!