Who loves pulling off a band-aid?

I don’t know about you, but I hate pulling off a well-adhered band-aid.

Knowing that the band-aid is probably going to take off some of the hair on my arm while I quickly yank it off makes me want to leave it there. Ok, it’s getting dirty, and it has gotten used to it’s home on my arm. Do I need to pull it off? They say that just pulling it off quickly is the best practice. Pulling it off slowly only lengthens the pain.
image of a band-aid

Where am I going with this analogy?

I’m at a spot in my life where I’m not comfortable with where I am.  I’ve painted myself in a corner. Even though at the same time, I don’t want to exert the work required to make a change. It’s sort of like, well, pulling off a band-aid. You know that something needs to be done because we can’t live with an old band-aid on our arm, but it’s going to hurt to make the change. There are uncertainties. Will the wound be healed underneath? Will I have to put on another band-aid? Well, you know, the only way to find out is to rip off the band-aid or make that change in your life so that you can find out.

I know I need to make a change.

Yes, I know that I need to make a change, it’s become obvious.
I told my wife, “We can’t go another year like we just had. Work has gotten to the point where it is affecting us physically and mentally.” We were looking for that buoy that we could sail to. Without the buoy to navigate to, we were merely going to sail in circles.
red buoy in the ocean

You see, that buoy that we are circling, has a long cable that goes to an anchor at the bottom of the channel. It’s not going anywhere, but then, neither are we. To sail away from this buoy means going into the open sea where we can’t make out where the next buoy is. Ok, I’ve skipped to another analogy. Hey, this is my blog, deal with it! I need word pictures to make sense of my thoughts. I’m sick of the buoy that I am circling, but like a band-aid, it’s gonna’ hurt to rip it off and leave.

What to do when there is no clear direction.

If you have been living with this band-aid way too long or circling this buoy so long that you’ve begun to talk to it and gave it a name, then it’s time to make the change. Rarely do we make changes so radical that we can’t retrace our steps if it is a bad decision. If this is the case, then why do we delay? It’s what I call the band-aid pain aversion syndrome. You know that there ARE changes that you could make today so that tomorrow isn’t a repeat of today, but the question is, will you? Even if there is no real clear direction, after a while, we have to have faith that some action is better than none.

There is a whole ocean out there with different lands to explore! Can looking at the same old life buoy be that pleasant compared to the mysteries of what life has to offer? Deep inside, you know that NO decision IS a decision.

Come on, pull off that band-aid!
image of band-aid with text rip off like a band-aid

Update on ripping off MY band-aid

I ripped off the band-aid and the hardest thing was the unknown results. Sure, it was tough to do, but after 6 weeks since ripping it off, our sales have not fallen one bit. As a matter of fact, our sales are up a bit compared to last year. My focus has returned to what got us here in the first place. Our margins are better and we have reduced a lot of wasted energy on products that we just needed to let go.

 

34 thoughts on “Who loves pulling off a band-aid?”

  1. I love the analogy with the bandaid here. The issue is that, even though we are often not happy where we are in life, it is still the known and therefore a comfort zone to an extent. Making a big change can be scary and part of that fear is the thought that you might end up in an even worse situation. Nevertheless life is too short not to have tried a different route on the path to finding greater happiness. Good luck to you as you move forward to find that next buoy.

    1. Very true. The known has it’s own comfort level. The unknown can be scary, but then again, there will be change. Making a change just for the sake of making a change isn’t good, but making a change due to loathing your life everyday is not only good, it is healthy.

  2. I just remembered John Green’s quote from Looking for Alaska after reading your post, “At some point, you just pull off the Band-Aid, and it hurts, but then it’s over and you’re relieved.”

    1. You are so right. We never pull off a band-aid 5 minutes after we put it on. We let it stay on until it has done it’s job. It’s only after we know that enough time has elapsed that it is time to rip it off.

  3. Very nicely written post and I love the comparison made as it is so true. It can be scary when we know that we need to make a change and for the better but we are never wanting to pull that band aid off and get it done.

  4. I ripped off the band aid a little over a year ago, and I don’t regret my decision. I was in a really bad car accident, developed some mental health problems from it that blew up because of the stress from my job. I got so sick, that I knew there was nothing I could do to make it better. The miserableness was at its peak, so I had to rip the band aid off. Not going to lie, the uncertainty is very scary. But, I am no longer miserable and am slowly navigating and finding my way.

    1. Are you able to share what ripping off the band-aid was for you during this time?
      I too was at the point of emotional exhaustion. I developed insomnia as well as major Anxiety.
      Eventually, I had to get some help to get through it.

  5. I love your analogy. It is really difficult to get out of your comfort zone because of the uncertainties. However, I always put in mind that making that change, taking that first step will open new doors of opportunities for me. It will hurt, but I will heal.

  6. This analogy is extremely apt for me right now as I am about to embark on a life changing adventure. I was vacillating about the decision, but I think this post and the subsequent comments have helped.

  7. One of the band aids in my life was me NEEDING to move from my city and chase what I really wanted in life. So uncomfortable but OMG amazing in the end!

  8. This post really resented with me. This was me recently, I knew things needed to change but I was almost to scared to go through with changing it. But I did, and its much better now, still scary but better. Thank you for this post.

      1. Being honest with how I actually felt. I think I hadnt stopped to process how I was really feeling so addressing that. Also keeping busy, doing things and and being an active participant in my life if that makes sense? Not just letting things happen, activily seeking to entertain myself

  9. Change can be such a difficult thing to deal with in life. But sometimes we definitely need to make it, even if we aren’t sure where we are going because of the rut that we are in.

  10. What a well-written and thought-provoking post. So many of us can undoubtedly feel your plight. It’s an age-old question, what hurts the old wounds that should have healed a long time ago or the new wounds we will inevitably inflict. This reminds me of the quote that goes on to say that the day came when it was more painful to remain in a bud than to bloom.

  11. I can relate to this so much, I really need to make a change in my work life and it feels like pulling off a band aid

  12. It will hurt but it has to be done. We all circle the buoy at some point in our lives and I pray that we all find direction, if we’re in that position.

  13. I am in the process of ripping of a bandaid. I don’t know what step I need to take but I have to take it off. I need change.

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