“If you’re going through hell, keep going.”
– Winston Churchill
There’s a reason you rarely picture a shark sitting still. For many species of sharks, movement is directly connected to survival. They use something called ram ventilation. As the shark swims forward, water passes over its gills, allowing it to pull oxygen from the water.
In simple terms, movement keeps it alive. And there’s a leadership lesson in that. As leaders, we have to keep moving.
Not constantly grinding. Not filling every minute of every day. And definitely don’t confuse movement with never resting. Proper rest matters. Time away matters. Family matters. Recovery matters. Rest is intentional. Stagnation isn’t.
I think stagnation is one of the most dangerous places a leader can find themselves because it doesn’t always feel terrible.
Sometimes it actually feels pretty comfortable. You’ve built a decent Team. You make decent money. Your team gets the work done. You know your industry. You know your job. You’ve developed a routine. Nothing is necessarily wrong.
But deep down, you’re not happy either.
You know there’s another level. You know the business could be better. Your culture could be stronger. There’s a conversation you need to have, a change you need to make, or something you know you’ve outgrown. Maybe you’ve been talking about the same problem for six months and haven’t done anything about it.
But staying where you are is easier than moving.
That’s the trap. Comfort doesn’t always mean contentment. You can be comfortable and unhappy at the exact same time. You can hate where you are and still be afraid to leave because at least you know what to expect there.
I’ve watched leaders stay in situations they complain about every single day because the pain they know somehow feels safer than the uncertainty of moving forward. Same employee problem. Same broken system. Same terrible client. Same financial frustration. Same excuses. Eventually you have to ask yourself, if I’m so unhappy here, why am I fighting so hard to stay here?
Sometimes we’re waiting for the perfect plan before we move. We want every answer, every variable accounted for, and every risk removed. That day rarely comes.
You’ve heard me say, “Knowledge on ice versus ignorance on fire.” Sometimes you just need movement. Take a step, learn, adjust, and take another one. Movement creates momentum, and momentum can create clarity.
It doesn’t have to start with some massive life-changing decision either. Make the phone call. Have the conversation. Change the system. Ask for help. Hire the person. Fire the bad client or employee. Admit something isn’t working.
One of the most dangerous sentences in leadership might be, “It’s not that bad.”
Maybe it isn’t. But is “not that bad” really what you’re building your life around?
For me… I don’t want to spend my life protecting comfortable places I was supposed to outgrow. And I don’t want to mistake being familiar with something for being fulfilled by it.
There are absolutely times to rest. Rest your body. Rest your mind. Take the vacation. Spend time with your family. Shut the phone off and recover. But when it’s time to move again, move. There’s a massive difference between stopping long enough to recover and stopping because you’re afraid of what’s next.
So maybe the question isn’t whether you’re successful. Maybe it isn’t even whether you’re comfortable.
Are you still moving? Are you still becoming the person and leader you know you’re capable of becoming? Are you willing to leave comfortable when comfortable is keeping you from where you know you’re supposed to go?
A shark doesn’t spend its life wondering whether the water ahead will be better than the water behind it. It keeps swimming.
Maybe some of us need to do the same!