P18: Playing It Safe Won’t Get You Off the Ground

Reading Time: 3-4 Minutes

Welcome to Just One Pivot, where we explore how a single shift in perspective can transform our lives. Today, I want to challenge you to reflect on whether you may be holding yourself back.

Sometimes, when we feel frustrated, stalled, or even exhausted, the real issue isn’t overwork—it’s under-challenge. We’re not drained from doing too much but from doing too little of what stretches us, excites us, and makes us feel truly alive.

Playing it safe might feel comfortable, but it can also be the very thing keeping us stuck. What if the energy you’re missing is on the other side of pushing your limits?

PIVOT POINT

Are you holding yourself back—flying too low without even realizing it?

THE MENTAL SHIFT

The first book that gripped me was Juan Salvador Gaviota, the Spanish translation of Jonathan Livingston Seagull. I found it at 12, the same year I lost my father to brain cancer. Years later, I read the English version, revisit it often, and lend it (indefinitely) to my mentees.

Jonathan is no ordinary seagull. While his flock squabbles over food and follows routine, he pushes himself to master flight, soaring higher and faster. His journey is about breaking limitations—physical, mental, and societal.

This theme echoes in another story: the Greek myth of Icarus, a boy who escapes imprisonment with wings made of feathers and wax. His father, Daedalus, warns him not to fly too high or the sun will melt the wax. Icarus gets carried away, soars too high, and falls to his demise into the sea when the sun melts the wax.

In The Icarus Deception, Seth Godin reminds us that Daedalus also warned Icarus not to fly too low or too close to the waves, where the mist would weigh him down.

Godin argues that the real risk isn’t aiming high—it’s playing it safe, shrinking from our potential, and silencing our creative voices—voices we all have within us because “Art is the unique work of a human being, work that touches another.”

That part of the warning somehow got lost over time.

PIVOT CHALLENGE

This week, your pivot challenge is Fly Higher.

Challenge yourself to take one step outside your comfort zone. Say yes to something that scares you. Speak up. Start the thing you’ve been putting off.

As my dear friend Karen Hinds, founder of The Renew Experience, puts it:

Because the real risk isn’t failure—it’s never knowing how high you could have gone.

TINY SHIFTS

Big breakthroughs start with small shifts. If flying higher feels daunting, start with a simple step—one small act of courage, creativity, or curiosity. Here are a few ways to challenge yourself today:

• Feeling stuck at work? Pitch a bold idea in your next meeting.

• Creatively drained? Try a new medium—write, draw, or build something.

• Avoiding a tough conversation? Take the first step and start it.

• Playing it too safe? Say yes to something that scares you (just a little).

• Routine feeling stale? Switch it up—take a different route, read a new genre, or learn a skill you’ve been putting off.

As always, I want to hear about your pivots and how they are transforming your mindset, business, or life. You can share your Pivot Stories here. 

Until next week,

Maria Keckler, Ph.D.
Author of Bridge Builders: How Superb Communicators Get What They Want
Creator of the Just One Pivot Letter
Founder of Keckler and Co.

P.S. I’m celebrating the tenth anniversary of my book, Bridge Builders, with a speaking tour. I’m scheduling new dates now. If you want to discuss how I can help you inspire your group, Send me a note.