In snowboarding, there is a saying: If you are not on the edge, you are taking up too much room. It is true. The edge is the sweet-spot where everything just clicks. It fits, it is easy, looks effortless and everything flows. But it can be hard work finding the edge - and even harder staying there. If you are not on the edge, you are just coasting.
I started a new job two weeks ago and to many the move made no sense. I still grapple with why I moved. I had the best job in government. I worked in an innovative organization that experimented, I loved my boss, I knew what I was doing and I was good at it - but I was coasting. I was no longer on the edge. I was no longer pushing me or challenging my assumptions, I was not forcing myself to be better and to grow. I needed to find the edge, that rush of adrenaline that comes with trying something you didn't think you can do.
Snowboarding keeps me sane and gets me through winter. If I couldn't be out there, pushing the limits - my limits - I would not have the opportunity to learn about me. It is because of snowboarding that I know I have to take risks and push, I have to find my edge and ride it through. It isn't always easy - but that is what keeps life interesting and keeps me coming back.
Kind of like starting a new job. I am pushing my comfort zone and living on the edge again. I am learning and there is a good chance that I might fall. The first time I ever locked into a carving board I was terrible and couldn't even stand up, but I also couldn't stop smiling. And like that experience, I know that this is right. I might not have the edge, yet, but I know this is where I am supposed to be.
