It's natural to seek comfort in the known.
To cling to the familiar roads and routes that brought us to today. After all, they're paved, proven, predictable. We can just put our foot on the gas and cruise.
Too often we get stuck in loops, mistaking movement for momentum. We keep glancing in the rear view to affirm we're still on track, not realising we're traveling in circles. Then we wonder why the scenery looks the fucking same year after year.
But growth doesn't happen on autopilot. Progress doesn't come from driving the same old streets and trajectories. It requires a willingness to turn down uncertain side roads. To turn our eyes to the horizon and navigate towards the edge of our experience.
The breakthroughs we're looking for only happen when we turn off the beaten path. When we find the courage to forfeit the false security of known directions and dare to explore uncharted possibilities.
Yes, the new roads are unpaved at first. Yes, there are more likely to be potholes and detours along the way. But anything worth finding is way beyond the borders of our current habits and assumptions. It waits for those brave enough to tear themselves away from the safe and the proven.
What if we resolved to drive forward more than backward? To consult the rear view for wisdom but not direction? To trust our internal compass even when the road ahead looks hazy?
Every new avenue must be paved by someone. Why not us? And why not now? We can pioneer a new route to our desired destinations.
The genius of progress is that it appears unannounced, in unfamiliar packaging. It tends to emerge just off the main highway, whispering for us to cut the wheel in its direction. If I've learned one thing from a decade of Dungeons and Dragons, the magic happens when we heed the call to adventure.
Where we're going, we don't need old roads. We need to draw an updated map and drive forward to meet it. Leading may be riskier than following - but it sure beats going in reverse.
