Living Off a Leash

“The most interesting things happen just on the other side of your comfort zone.” 

- Michael Hyatt

Living Off a Leash

“Where’s my leash?” Three-year-old Annie called out.

You see, Annie was such an energetic child that we often could not keep track of her in public settings.  Have you ever been shopping for kids’ clothes in a large clothing store, with three children, while one of the three is singularly playing “hide-and-seek,” by secreting herself in the middle of seemingly endless, giant round-clothing-racks, packed with textiles on hangers?  It is a frightening experience for a parent!  Such was the genesis of Annie’s “life on a leash.”

I anticipated that Annie’s living on a leash would make my parental responsibilities less harrowing.  What I didn’t foresee was an unintended “comfort quotient” for my daughter.  Being tethered during complex and challenging moments became akin to being wrapped in a comfort blanket.  I didn’t realize that until I heard her “where’s my leash” question as we were preparing to leave our house one day.

More than twenty years later, on a day not more than one week ago, during a virtual meeting with a Client, the discussion of alternative paths forward for her business became paramount.  As with almost all real estate decisions the conversation was centering on location and she had become intractable. At the same time, I knew she was counting on me to give her viable growth solutions.  Solutions that could only be discovered by cutting the tether of current comforts.  She, like little Annie, had to decide to remove her own leash.

 

“Are you living on a leash?”  I carefully asked.  “What if you cut the fetter currently binding you to your existing location?  What if there was something better, or bigger waiting for you?  Would you like to have the chance to find out?”

Then I held my breath and stopped!

“Are YOU living on a leash?”  I asked myself, hanging on to an eternity of silence, while waiting for her reply. Realizing that everyone continually experiences both seen and unseen leashes throughout life.  And, sometimes obtaining more peace, more happiness, more love, and more fulfillment are only available to us by cutting a string currently binding our options and growth.

Michael Hyatt once taught me that, “The most interesting things happen just on the other side of your comfort zone.”

This meeting’s continuing silence allowed me to once again hear Annie’s young voice call out, “Where’s my leash?”

You see, Annie was such an energetic child that I often could not keep track of her in public settings.  Have you ever been shopping for kids’ clothes in a large clothing store, with three children, while one of the three is singularly playing “hide-and-seek,” by secreting herself in the middle of seemingly endless, giant round-clothing-racks, packed with textiles on hangers?  It is a frightening experience for a parent!  Such was the genesis of Annie’s “life on a leash.”

“I can begin living my life off a leash!” My Client announced, ending the eternity of silence.

Now the question hiding in the white space between these lines is, will you and I cut our own leashes and begin to experience the interesting things that will happen for us on the other side of our comfort zones?