Leave the Holding Pattern
I've learned that being busy and making progress aren't necessarily the same thing.
You can move all day and still end up exactly where you started.
That's what makes the holding-pattern analogy so powerful to me.
An aircraft in a holding pattern isn't sitting still.
It's moving.
It's using fuel.
It's doing exactly what the pattern requires.
But eventually, something has to change.
That's true in life too.
There have been things that worked beautifully for one version of me that couldn't accompany me into the next season.
That doesn't make the old version wrong.
It means the season changed.
I've learned not to discard everything simply because something new arrives.
Some things deserve to remain.
Faith.
Integrity.
Values.
Lessons.
Character.
But I've also learned not to make monuments out of methods.
"I've always done it this way" isn't always a good enough reason to continue doing it that way.
Sometimes growth requires us to honor what got us here while admitting it won't necessarily get us there.
That's not abandoning your foundation.
That's evolution.
So I periodically ask myself:
Am I rooted...or am I stuck?
Because there's a difference.
Roots provide stability while allowing growth.
Being stuck prevents movement because we're afraid of what growth might require.
I want roots.
Deep ones.
But I also want new branches.
New fruit.
New harvests.
New seasons.
And I'm willing to leave a few holding patterns to experience them.