Thank you Carol!
Carol (fictitious name) has resigned! She had been in this company for 8 years! Between ups and downs, her relationship with this place has lasted longer than her marriage - since she got married while working there - longer than her gym membership, longer than her new hobby of playing volleyball on the sand court in the middle of São Paulo, longer than the time she's had her car. People she met in the company are more present in her life than any social friend or family member - do we still have non-work friends? I think so, right? We manage to go out with them once every two months, but we do!
Look: she's the one who chose to take this step, and she's going to do something super cool now! The plan is incredible! But it's unknown, and those people and processes she lives with every day won't be there. The fights with Leo from finance, the gossip with Bia from marketing, the lunches at the restaurant with the yellow awning won't be there anymore.
"Well life is about movement, and if we want something different, we have to try different things".
I know, little grasshopper, and I agree, but I don't take away the weight that all movement causes discomfort, requires courage and resilience.
In real words: it sucks! Okay, life changes, and there are things we want to try and live, but when we jump into the “new”, the unknow, while we're still in the air, between one point and the next we think "what the hell am I doing?
Have you ever had some big change in your life at a time when everything was fine? A job, a relationship, a house, a city?
If so, I hope it was for the better and that today you're happy with the change, but what was it like when it happened? Do you still remember?
Maybe this is something that happens in our lives that the more we train and do, the less we want to do it and feel prepared, because look, think about something difficult: change.
I think we all deserve a warm round of applause for having the courage to change what isn't good, but we deserve a super party for changing something that is good.
But what then? Would the answer then be never to change? If everything is fine in your life, do you just live? I think so, I think that's an option, don’t you?
But if you're part of a small part of the world that wants to see more, that wants to live more, that wants to test your limits, try new flavors, go out there and break your back - or not - I'm sorry to tell you, sitting in your comfort zone won't keep you warm and cozy for long.
Don't get me wrong: the comfort zone is wonderful!!!
But there are a few people in the world who get uncomfortable there and move and change, test, learn, and when they feel ready and generous: share with others, after all, we can only dream by going beyond what we know.
I thank all the crazy, fickle, annoyed and nonconformist people who came before me, who showed me bits of life I didn't know and gave me new ideas so I could dream bigger.
And I thank all the "Carols" who decide to leave their comfort zone with fear, doubt and stubborn tears rolling down their cheeks, for showing us that we can change and look for other lives even when everything is fine with our own.