I love to walk. At home, on vacation, with music or a podcast in my ears or just listening to nature. Give me an open road and I can walk at a faster clip than some with longer legs can keep up with. It does wonders for my heart and my mind. But I do something that might look a little strange to the casual observer.
I love sunny days, but when I walk in the summer, it’s hot. With sweat pouring down my face and back, I gravitate toward any shade I can find. On the most stifling days, that means I literally cross the road back and forth walking from one long shadow to the next.
The shadows are cooler. Less glaring. I even rush through the sunny spots just to get back to the shady pavement. I know I’ll get through the route, but it’s my own weird way of making it more tolerable. I must look like I’m trying to find my way home after a bar crawl, wandering all over the road.
Oh, what we’ll do to avoid discomfort.
We like predictability as well. If we know what’s ahead, we can prepare for it, which is reassuring (and dare I say, more comfortable).
But we rely on some odd practices to make us feel like we know what to expect.
On Sunday, Punxsutawney Phil emerged from his ceremonial home in central Pennsylvania and apparently saw his shadow. According to legend, that means we have six more weeks of winter.
Thousands of people gather at Gobbler’s Knob every year on February 2nd – Groundhog Day – to witness the spectacle. Men in long topcoats and tall black hats make a big fuss over what Phil will predict. Reporters with cameras alongside regular people come from near and far to stand in the darkness of a winter morning and listen to the great seer of all things weather – a groundhog. It’s a big deal. These people were not pleased with the promise of a longer winter.
And yet despite the prediction, a heat wave hit major parts of the country this week, with the temperature in many areas reaching 10-15 degrees above average for this time of year. It feels like spring. Definitely not what Phil predicted or what you’d expect for early February.
Turns out Phil’s only right about 30-40% of the time (depending on who you ask). Those aren’t good odds. Random guessing might get you closer to 50-50. So as cute as he is, why are we putting stock in a groundhog to determine our outlook for the rest of winter? How about we bet on ourselves instead?
It’s not wrong to want to be comfortable. Or to take note of the expectations of others from time to time. But meaningful change doesn’t usually happen when you’re comfortable or working according to someone else’s plan. Change that matters to you happens when you step outside your comfort zone and test your limits.
How do you walk through your days? Do you let the expectations of others hold you back? Or do you use the story you tell yourself about what others want as an excuse to make your own progress?
Here’s a thought: let’s stop lingering in the long shadows of comfort and expectations and act a little bolder. Lean a little more into what we want for ourselves and the world around us instead of playing it safe.
Don’t wait for the path to clear or someone to give you permission to go after what you want. You’ll face challenges along the way that will make you uncomfortable. Some people won’t understand or even like what you’re doing because it’s not what they expected from you.
But if you believe in it, keep putting one foot in front of the other. You’ll figure it out. We need you to do that brave, unique thing you’re supposed to be putting out into this world, so get to it!
Maybe we’ll get another dose of winter before the official start of spring, or maybe not. But either way, in this moment, I’m going to step out into the sunshine and enjoy the warmth.
