High Performing Leaders Don't Wait for Someday
Last week, I invited you to write a letter from your future self celebrating your boldest achievements in 2025.
Today, let's explore the flip side - a letter from a future where you chose comfort over courage. This isn't meant to discourage you or bring negativity but to see the cost of inaction.
Sometimes, seeing the path you don't want can clarify the path you do.
It's written as a wake-up call to the power of your choices today.
__________________
Dear Past Self,
I'm writing from the last day of 2025 haunted by the same unfulfilled whispers of "what if" that have become a constant companion.
The days blurred together this year with indistinguishable moments of "someday" and "maybe later." I kept treading the familiar paths, letting the ping of notifications and the lull of Netflix drown out the voice of my ambitions.
While others launched their next best career, taking their life leaps – some soaring, others stumbling but rising with grace and grit – I stayed stuck. I became an expert at crafting excuses, collecting reasons why "now isn't the right time" like others collect achievements.
That business idea I had? Someone else brought it to life, and now I see their success plastered across my feed.
Others got fit, mastered that skill, and got that promotion while I remained unchanged in my comfort zone.
The most painful part isn't watching others claim the opportunities I let slip away – it's the person I didn't become.
I chose the certainty of sameness over the possibility of greatness.
I chose to believe that greatness was a gift given to others, not a choice I could make.
I traded dreams for the false security of staying in wait.
And with each post about someone else's life leap succeeding, a voice inside me whispered:
"Why isn't that me?!”
My life stagnated because I resisted challenging my assumptions. Failure would have meant I tried.
My overwhelm had me avoiding the beautiful mess of trying something new.
My impact remained limited because I never risked rejection.
My 'someday' is never in disguise.
In trying to avoid discomfort, I created a different kind of pain – the slow ache of potential unrealized, of a life lived in the shallow end of my capabilities.
I didn't lose my dreams; I just loved my comfort zone more than I loved the person I could become.
Sadly, Your Unrealized Possibilities Future Self
________________________
YOUR next life leap is waiting.
YOU can choose courage over comfort.
YOU still have time. 2025 hasn't happened yet!
YOU can trade the certainty of regret for the possibility of achievement.
The only question is: Will YOU continue to wait, or will YOU begin?
Don’t let a life leap scare you into thinking you could never do that. Bezos, Blakely, Musk, and that person you admire from afar on social media are no different than you or I.
They had an idea for themselves and knew it would be hard, difficult, and painful, but they believed, and from that belief, they took action again and again. Forward movement. A few steps forward, one or two backward, but with continuing movement driven by belief and some results.
YOU are no different from them.
YOU get to write your own life script.
YOUR thoughts are the only thing holding you back or moving you forward.
What will YOU write in your letter a year from now?
Written with so much ❤️ and support.
P.S. The time spent worrying about failing you can use to start succeeding.
