“You cannot swim for new horizons until you have courage to lose sight of the shore.” – William Faulkner
One of us had the privilege to visit Hawaii this summer, and while we were there we couldn’t stop thinking about how people first reached the islands. They are literally in the middle of the ocean.
It turns out the first people to reach Hawai’i arrived by canoe approximately 1,500 years ago from the Polynesian islands. They relied on what’s called wayfinding: a system of navigation using the stars, ocean swells, wind patterns, cloud formations, and the flight path of birds.
Learning about this, and thinking about Faulkner’s quote above, was a reminder that while we often talk about growth, we spend less time talking about what it takes.
In our experience, moving forward almost always means leaving something behind. Letting go of the shore means uncertainty. It means leaving behind what feels safe, even when it has served you well. The role you’ve mastered. The process that used to work. The safety of knowing exactly what to expect.
At some point, you have to stop looking back. You have to let go of the shore and trust that there is land ahead, even if you can’t see it yet.
We see this often in hiring. Someone earns a promotion but keeps pieces of their old role because that’s where they feel most confident. Or a company redefines a position but still expects the person to do everything they did before. It feels safer that way, but it usually slows progress instead of protecting it.
We believe the best transitions happen when you clear the slate. Get rid of the components of the role that make it too easy to fall back to what’s comfortable. Because once you take away the safety net, you have no choice but to grow into the new role.
So the next time you’re not seeing the results you are expecting, ask yourself if you’ve really let go, or if you’re still holding onto the shore.
And if you need a little extra inspiration, here is what we think might be the most “YOLO” moment in movie history.
Until next time,
Your Spherion South Central WI & Northern IL team