The Liable Asset

First, an apology for the long hiatus - given a combination of Sandy-effects, work busy-ness, and the school term wrapping up, a small blogging sabbatical seemed in order.  But one of my professors made a comment recently that sparked reflection:

Your biggest asset can be your biggest liability.

The professor referenced certain companies, long successful in a certain historic line of business, who grow emotionally attached and cannot give up the line even after it has become unprofitable.  Or they become so bogged down in how “things used to be” (and how successful they were at it historically) that they cannot adapt to a changing world and eventually go under.  

Ok, fair enough.    

                                                      

I found the comment more thought-provoking when turned internally – what is it about my own life that represents a great asset becoming a great liability? 

Career?  The more talented we are in a given area, and the longer we work in that area, the more unable we are to see ourselves as doing anything else; our career has become entrenched in our identity.  In reality, a change is sometimes a better fit for our gifts/talents, but the stronger an asset we see our careers to be, and the more “successful” society deems that career track to be, the more difficult it is to change directions.

Finances?  The more money we make, the more we seem to need. My husband and I try to live conscientiously, but particularly in a high cost of living area like NYC, it can be easy to get caught on the hamster wheel. One of my serious goals for 2013 is to get back to giving away 10% of our income – but this will take literally sitting down to figure out how much per month this would mean, and what has been holding us back (though the last two years it has been business school tuition!).

Safety and Stuff? A need for security is at the heart of many human instincts – and in many ways this is healthy, driving people to ensure food and shelter for their families. It can also become a burden, as we find ourselves in “stuff jail,” with so many possessions we become buried (hopefully only figuratively) underneath them. The drive for safety often also keeps us from healthy risk-taking: seeking new chapters for ourselves, new beginnings, new adventures. 

 Or, as J.R. Tolkien puts it:

“It's a dangerous business, Frodo, going out your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept off to.” 

Perhaps our homework for setting a 2013 New Year's resolution should be to consider: which asset is your greatest liability?