Women in general, even smart, experienced women entrepreneurs who people might think of as successful, are not comfortable taking risks. They prefer the evil they know to the evil they don’t know. In other words – they would rather stay in a place where they may be truly miserable, than to face the unknown. In one of my workshop I tell the story of a fisherman who limits the size of his fish to those that fit in his frying pan rather than taking larger fish. People who are stuck in status quo are limiting their dreams and aspirations with small frying pan thinking.
Of course not everyone is like this – we all have different degrees of being stuck in status quo – some might be more stuck and others just a little bit stuck. But, I am guessing most of us can think of a time when they stayed in a negative situation far too long.
When I was in college, I worked part-time for a retail department store chain. During our last semester before getting my bachelor’s degree most of my friends from school were interviewing with all sorts of companies hoping to get great new jobs after graduation. But I really hated the idea of going out on a bunch of job interviews. One day my supervisor at my part-time job asked me if I would like her to put my name in for an assistant manager job with the company. This job was not in my chosen career field, but I was comfortable working there, and if I didn’t have to interview so much the better. I said yes, got the job, stayed working at that same company for a total of more than 12 years. I was stuck in status quo so badly, that I had pretty much forgotten any of my dreams about what I had really wanted to do with my life. So, I have definitely been stuck in status quo myself. And the best thing I ever did for my career, and the scariest, was the first job interview I went on after more than 12-years working for the same company.
Why is it important to stop being stuck in status quo? Because when a person is stuck they lose sight of their purpose, what they are passionate about, what they always dreamed of achieving. It’s a sad but common way to lose touch with what is most important and what you truly value. This is why it is important to know how to cure this common mistake. In my business breakthrough sessions my clients and I look at what’s working in their business, what’s not working, where they are spending most of their time and energy. We look at whether their time, energy and resources match up with what is most important, with what they want to achieve, and with their dreams and vision for the future. A business breakthrough moment – that “Aha!” discovery – can transform a small business owner, solo entrepreneur, or any independent professional from stuck in status quo to moving forward to get results.