Kim and I recently realized we’ve been living a lie.
Allow me to explain.
Being close to water has always been high on our list of values. We dreamed of living on a lake since our earliest days together. When we lived in Madison and worked toward that goal, we spent a lot of time enjoying the four lakes that embraced the city. When we went on vacation, we faithfully followed a rule: make a point to get a place on the water.
Well, we recently spent a long weekend in Door County, and once we cleared space on the calendar, the next step was securing lodging. Naturally, Kim’s knee-jerk reaction was to start looking for a place on the water.
But then we talked about it. Now that we are fortunate to live on a lake and can enjoy campfires in our own backyard, the importance of renting a place on the water is no longer a high priority.
We realized we were operating with a premise that was no longer true.
Are you currently making choices based on something that used to be true, but no longer is?
Is a goal that drove you in your twenties a little less important now that you have a family or feels a little less interesting now that you’ve explored it a bit?
Are you spending time or money maintaining something useful ten years ago when the kids were younger, but now no longer need it?
Are you still abiding by a preference that mattered a lot to someone who is no longer in your life?
Are you still volunteering with an organization that no longer aligns with your values or requires more time than you can give in this season of your life?
Does your business still serve a demographic that is no longer as good a fit for the current strengths and solutions you offer?
If you answered yes to any of these questions, hear this: it doesn’t mean that your original decisions were wrong. Seasons change. We learn and grow and evolve. We are allowed to change our minds, especially when circumstances change.
In fact, we should.
But we often hold on too long, wasting time and resources on something that is no longer serving us.
Why do we do this?
Sometimes it’s hard to say goodbye to happy seasons of life.
Sometimes it’s hard to move beyond the sunk costs of time, energy, and money we’ve invested.
Sometimes it’s just a habit or routine that’s become a rut because it hasn’t been evaluated in a while.
That was the case for me and Kim.
Realizing that renting a place on the water wasn’t as important gave us more options for lodging that could work, which, not surprisingly, were way more affordable. (Which is good, because the cost of feeding our clan is now much more expensive!)
Granted, our example is pretty pedestrian in the grand scheme of things.
But in any case, the cost of living a lie is always more expensive.
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