Just Skating By

Just skating by.

It’s an old phrase, and we all seem to have some understanding of what it implies. It’s when someone does exactly what they need to do to get by – whether in school, the workplace, or in their personal life – and nothing more. This is what’s required, so that’s what I’m giving. You give what you need to give, and that’s a wrap. Yes, we all share in the common knowledge of what “just skating by” means. Exactly how that knowledge affects us individually, however, is much less well known.

If we’re able to achieve some measure of success in our inspection businesses, we will all eventually come face to face with the monster that is the Frozen Lake.

This may be a little difficult to picture for us inspectors who work in the south, but imagine that you’re skating down a frozen river. Everything is going fine, no hiccups at all, until you turn around a bend where the river runs into a frozen lake.

What do we do? Do we keep to the shore, where the river continues along, no hiccups for the foreseeable future, or do take a chance and venture onto the lake? We know exactly what we’re getting if we’re skating on the river. It’s clear and calm, and quite unlikely that we’ll encounter any problems. 

If we choose to explore the lake, who knows what we’ll get.

Yes, there’s a chance that bad things could befall us; nothing is ever guaranteed, especially in the inspection business. But there’s also a chance that we could find something nice that improves our situation. We might even be lucky enough to discover something amazing, a game-changer that would lead to a better life.

Nothing ventured, nothing gained.

Geoffrey Chaucer

Sooner or later, we all face decisions. It’s inevitable. It’s simply part of business and part of life. We’ve all got to choose the path we take. Do we choose the safe road, taking the tried and true path over uncertainty, skating on by the Frozen Lake? Or do we take a chance and venture out into the unknown, realizing that failure is a possibility but believing that success is an even-more-likely event?

We all face this question every day, in every corner of our lives. How we deal with it is up to us. Others may try to influence our path but we’re the only one who gets to decide. We have (or can easily acquire) the knowledge we need to make an informed decision. We’ve simply got to decide. Even if we choose to do nothing at this time, we’ve still made a decision.

There’s no right or wrong answer here.

Whatever we decide, even if we choose indecision, the only thing we’re going to get is more questions.

That’s just how business is.

That’s just how life is.

We do the best we can with the information we have available, and we move on to the next question.

Here’s wishing you luck with the next big decision you face.

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Thanks, Joe