Sometimes the best career lesson doesn’t come from a book or a business meeting. Sometimes it comes from watching a 12-year-old try to ride a log into Lake Superior.
Watching curiosity in action along the shores of Lake Superior.
My family and I were enjoying some time by the lake recently, and my 12-year-old was just being a kid. He was in and out of the water, even though it was far too cold for any adult to want to go in. While I enjoyed watching him, that wasn’t the biggest thing that stood out to me.
As adults, we slowly replace curiosity with certainty—and that often keeps us from opportunities we never even explore. His childhood curiosity was on full display, along with a willingness to experiment without fear of failure. My son found a log along the shore and wondered if he could ride it into the water. My wife and I immediately thought, ‘This isn’t going to work,’ and ‘I hope he doesn’t get hurt.’ We went first to the limits instead of the possibilities.
When did that change? Age 16? 18? 25? Why do I limit myself? I think it becomes a safety mechanism we develop to protect ourselves from failure. If I never try, then I can’t fail. While technically true, that mindset also keeps us from growing and stepping outside our comfort zone. I never consciously decided it was time to think more cautiously as an adult—it just happened.
I remember wrestling with my own decision to leave a corporate career after more than twenty years. My instinct was to stay where things felt predictable. I assumed people would think I was making a mistake. Instead, most people told me they admired the decision—they just weren’t sure they could do it themselves.
As I’ve worked with clients over the past couple of years, I’ve seen this same pattern. People naturally drift toward what feels familiar instead of simply learning what’s possible. We convince ourselves we’re making the safe choice when, more often, we’re simply choosing what’s familiar.
Almost every week I hear some version of:
• I’m probably too old.
• My kids are too young.
• I couldn’t afford it.
• I’m not an entrepreneur.
Sometimes those concerns turn out to be true. But many times they’re assumptions—not facts. The only way to know is to channel the 12-year-old in you and give yourself permission to learn before deciding.
The experiment didn’t work—but that wasn’t the point.
My son didn’t ride the log across Lake Superior. He climbed on, immediately sank into knee-deep water, laughed, climbed back out, and started looking for the next thing to try. He wasn’t worried about failing because, to him, it wasn’t failure. It was simply finding out what would happen. Somewhere along the way, many of us stop thinking like that.
What assumption have you accepted as fact without ever testing it?
Maybe it’s worth approaching that question with a little more curiosity—and a little less certainty.
If you’re exploring what’s next in your career or wondering whether business ownership could be part of your future, I’d be happy to be a resource. My coaching is complimentary and designed to help people explore possibilities before making decisions.
Schedule a complimentary conversation:
https://jsenich.esourcecoach.com/schedule-a-call/