Shake Free of Habit and Familiarity

Last July, I walked out of my home away from home for the last time. Though I knew my gym was closing and that my membership would get me into a new location a few miles farther from home, I insisted on sticking with what I knew, until they literally locked the doors behind me. Honestly, if I could, I would still be a regular at a place that had fallen into disrepair.

And, I would have missed joining a new gym that has saved me anxiety, time and money. Even before rumors of the gym closing began, I suspected that I should consider other gyms, but habit and familiarity kept from making a change. Habit and familiarity, though comforting, can keep us in a rut, if we’re not aware of their limiting tendencies.

Think about jobs and relationships that you have held onto, though they were no longer fulfilling. You probably thought about looking for fulfillment in other places, but stayed right where you were, because change can be intimidating. Though it usually doesn’t get you anywhere, it’s easier to hang onto the status quo and hope that better days are ahead, than to accept and embrace change.

Long-time readers of this blog know that I make my living by recruiting top talent for my incredible clients who trust me to help them thrive and grow with quality employees. That type of talent is rarely found with their resume online, so I spend much of my day contacting passive candidates – people who are qualified, but who aren’t actively looking. In other words, I propose change to those who aren’t seeking it. As you can probably imagine, I’ve become somewhat of an expert in rejection.

I also feel like an expert in resistance to change, because that’s almost always the reason behind the rejection. Though employment polls suggest that more than half of working professionals are considering making a career move within a year, a much smaller percentage are interested in hearing about different opportunities.

Many of my initial contacts are met with resistance right out of the gate. “I’m not interested in making a move” is something that I hear many times each day, and I hear it before they even know what the opportunity that they are rejecting entails. I might be calling with their dream job or at least a job that pays more than they currently earn, but their knee-jerk reaction keeps them from hearing it. They are so averse to the prospect of change that they don’t even want to consider it.

When we’re sneaking away from change, we’re often forsaking long-term growth in order to avoid short-term pain. We don’t want to learn new things, meet new people or go new places, because we’re intoxicated by habit and familiarity, like I was with the prospect of changing gyms.

My old gym was nearly perfect when I first joined nearly 18 years ago. The facility and equipment were almost new, and the membership and staff were enthusiastic. In the past five years or so, all of that faded away. The facility was unkempt, and the equipment was rusty and often broken for weeks. Members and staff complained, and many left. In fact, at the end, the only features that kept me were comfort and familiarity.

Finally, I tried a gym that is considerably closer to me, vibrant and meticulously maintained. On top of all of that, I am able to park just a few steps from the front door, whereas I faced a long and uncertain walk at the original facility. Looking back, I can see that it is a move that I should have made years ago, and would have made if habit and familiarity hadn’t paralyzed me.

Don’t let habit and familiarity paralyze you. Know when it’s time to change, and embrace it.