What got me here won't get me there

What got you here might not get you there.

I was speaking with a friend the other day who said what I think is a profound statement.

She said:

"I find it hard to accept that I can't just power through but I'm also asking myself why I can't give myself time and a little more grace."

Anyone else relate?

Brute force may well be the thing that got you through until now.

If you've always used brute force to power through things, there will come a time where it doesn't quite work the same as it used to.

Starting a new job?

Moving to a new country?

Taking on a new team to manage?

I don't know at which inflection point, but you might need to have a second or third gear into which you can switch.

Sometimes being able to 'clever' your way through things just won't cut it.

Brute force is powerful but it's also a blunt instrument.

It's the hammer seeing everything as a nail.

And as we know, not everything is a nail.

Sometimes it'll require grace, patience, self-reflection, time, growth, apology, restraint, or nuance.

These are the things which are infinitely harder to practice and murkier.

They don't suit a LinkedIn listicle and they're not easily sum up-able, but increasingly I think they're the keys to everything.