Run Toward What You Want
Behavioral scientist Rory Sutherland has a line we’ve never forgotten: “the opposite of a good idea can also be a good idea.” Most people assume good decisions have one right answer and a wrong one. In reality, two completely opposite approaches can both work, and the one that actually works for you often comes down to direction. Are you moving away from something, or toward something?
That distinction is one of the core principles in our family and in this business: don’t run away from what you don’t want, run toward what you do. The two can look similar on the surface. Both involve change, both involve leaving something behind. But they come from completely different places. One is driven by fear, and it tends to lead somewhere just as uncertain as where you started. The other is driven by a clear picture of what you’re actually building, and it tends to lead somewhere you’re glad you ended up.
We haven’t just talked about this principle, we’ve leaned on it personally, more than once. There have been decisions in our own life where the easy path was reacting to what we were afraid of. Every time we slowed down long enough to ask what we actually wanted instead, and moved toward that, it saved us from a lot of heartache we would have otherwise walked straight into.
If you’re at a point where you’re ready to move toward something instead of just away from something, we’d love to talk about what that could look like for you.
