Success Impulse: Are you wading in water that is too shallow?
It's about more than just cooling off: Find out why you should venture into deeper waters and what David Bowie has to do with it in this new Success Impulse.
If you've been (or still are) looking to cool off in the water during the summer heat, David Bowie's quote comes in handy: "If you feel confident in the area you are working in, then you are not working in the right area. Always go a little further into the water than you think you can handle. Venture a little beyond your limits, and if you feel your feet barely touching the ground, you're in exactly the right place to do something exciting." I think this gets to the heart of why many don't really get anywhere and then are dissatisfied: they tread water in the shallows.
Stepping in place in shallow water
In any case, we remember David Bowie (and many others) for not staying in shallow water. (And attention: What in the quote not is to simply swim into deep water completely out of one's mind. That only very rarely works out well ;-) In any case, I see a lot of people who find countless reasons why they absolutely have to stay in the familiar water. The problem: This doesn't get us anywhere and it makes us unhappy in the long run, because unfulfilled.
It's where the feet no longer feel the ground that the magic often happens. Let's bring this into the business context a bit. Here are three ideas on how to bring David Bowie into your everyday life (besides listening to his music):
Idea #1: More curiosity
As children, we are curious. Later, we are gradually deprived of this. Conversely, this means that we can also learn it again.
Instead of accepting things or improving them slightly (shallow water), keep asking yourself, "Why is it like this?" Or, "Why don't we do it differently?" Or, "Why don't we just leave that out?"
Idea #2: More inspiration
I think too few people are inspired by people who have crossed borders, who had or have "no ground under their feet".
For me, at any rate, it helps a lot to reflect again and again (and to read about it) how outstanding artists, politicians or business people have generated their success. When you see what works for others, you can venture into deeper water yourself.
Idea No. 3: More variation
We often stay in shallow water because we always do the same things in the same way. It's comfortable and seemingly safe.
If you simply vary your own routines and keep doing things differently, you'll find yourself in situations where you can do "something exciting" much more often.
So, what deep water will you go into today and what exciting thing will you create?
To the author:
Volkmar Völzke is a success maximizer. Book author. Consultant. Coach. Speaker. www.volkmarvoelzke.ch
