Give It Some Room

Sometimes the problem isn't potential.

Sometimes it's space.

I've watched things with every opportunity to grow struggle simply because too much was trying to grow in the same place.

Nothing was necessarily wrong with any one thing.

There just wasn't enough room for everything to thrive.

And I started thinking about how often we do the same thing in our lives and businesses.

We have a good idea.

Then another good idea.

Then another opportunity.

Another responsibility.

Another project.

Another commitment.

Individually, every one of them may have potential.

Together, they may be competing for the same limited resources.

Our time.

Our attention.

Our money.

Our energy.

Our creativity.

Eventually, something that could have grown beautifully begins struggling—not because it wasn't good enough, but because we never gave it enough room to become what it could be.

That's an important lesson when we're expanding consistency.

Sometimes consistency isn't about adding another thing to the schedule.

Sometimes it's about creating enough space to consistently tend what is already there.

In business, that might mean delegation.

Maybe someone else needs ownership of a task you've been trying to manage yourself.

It might mean additional training.

Maybe the problem isn't effort. Maybe you simply don't have the skill yet to accomplish the assignment efficiently.

It might mean separating responsibilities.

Every project doesn't need to live in the same folder, every idea doesn't need to become a service, and every person doesn't need to be responsible for everything.

Sometimes growth needs structure.

And sometimes we have to make the difficult decision to move something—not because we're giving up on it, but because we're giving it a better opportunity to grow.

That's true professionally.

It's true personally.

It's true when building teams.

And it's definitely true when we're deciding how much of ourselves we can realistically give to the things we've said matter.

We tend to celebrate people who can “do it all.”

I'm beginning to question whether doing it all should even be the goal.

Maybe the better question is:

Does everything I'm responsible for have what it needs to grow?

Because potential crowded by potential is still crowded.

And being surrounded by good opportunities doesn't automatically make them productive opportunities.

At some point, we have to determine what needs our direct attention, what can be delegated, what needs additional resources, what needs its own space, and what may simply need to wait.

That's not failure.

That's stewardship.

At this new grade level, the assignment isn't necessarily to carry more.

Maybe the assignment is learning how to manage what we're carrying better.

Look at what's growing around you.

If something is struggling, don't immediately assume it needs to be discarded.

Before you give up on its potential, ask another question:

Does it simply need more room?

Sometimes that's all growth has been waiting for.