Rock Bottom
There's a saying I've been using for the last decade: "Okay is the worst place to be." There's nothing worse than being okay in xyz area of life. Okay isn't good enough to thrive, but also not bad enough to change. Slotting ourselves in the okay lane is a first-class ticket to stagnation....and eventual slow-burn failure.
I see this play out over and over again with people and money. People who are doing okay are the ones who will end up in the worst places. For better or worse, rock bottom is the blessing of all blessings. Hitting rock bottom is typically the catalyst that triggers massive change. You know who doesn't hit rock bottom? People who are doing okay.
There's one particular area of Northern Vessel that we've done okay with for the past three years on the operational side. Never good, never bad. However, it's one area I've been standing on my soapbox, yelling about how we need to step up our game. Since we've been stuck in okay land, there's no chance of making meaningful change. Something awesome happened this week, though. We hit rock bottom! We finally reaped the consequences of not handling ourselves with excellence. We screwed up, and we're paying the price. Okay quickly turned to rock bottom, and guess what (!?!?), we're ready to make some meaningful changes. As always, rock bottom will allow us to transform this aspect of our business and thrive like never before.
I never root for people to fail. However, I feel terrible for all the people in my life who live in the land of okay. I want so much better for them, but okay is their worst enemy. I never celebrate people's rock bottoms, but I rejoice in the transformation that's on the table when it does come.
I don't wish for you to experience a rock bottom, but I believe you deserve far better than just okay. I don't know what area of your life I'm talking about here, but you do. You absolutely do. Don't settle for okay, and please don't wait for rock bottom to be your wake-up call. Rock bottom will certainly wake us up, but let's not require that outcome before stepping up our game.
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