Change Is Scary

Well hey, team. Here we are again—what a beautiful day! As you can tell, it happens to be a Monday because it says so on the screen. I am so thankful for the team that provides me slides, little backgrounds, and everything telling me what day it is because I would forget.

I saw this quote that said, “Change is scary, but change is growth.” And I want to unpack that because I don’t know about you, but change is scary. Anytime we experience change in our lives, some of us handle it differently. Some of us are much more guarded and have more trouble with change than others.

As we talk about on Mondays, our core value is resolve—don’t quit. Keep going. Keep moving. Invest in something. Be humble. These are all qualities we need. In the midst of change, it’s helpful to be humble. It’s helpful to have an investment mentality, to put service to others above ourselves. When we focus on those things—investing in other people, owning who we are and what we do, having the resolve not to quit once we commit—it makes a difference.

In our society, we often hear that it’s okay to quit, and sometimes, it is. But when I think about it, if I hadn’t wrapped my arms around the tough stuff, made the changes I needed to grow, to be different, to sacrifice, Northwest Enforcement wouldn’t be here. If Karen and I hadn’t done those things, we wouldn’t have this company. I could have stayed doing something different. Karen could have too—she had a great career in regional government. Heck, she would have almost 30 years in right now! She had a solid career path ahead of her, but when she left and invested her time here, that change was scary. But I’ve seen Karen grow tremendously.

For me, I left the city and went all in here. I’ve seen many of you, our team members, change and grow as well. The books that Sonia has our operations leaders, team members, and dispatchers reading—I love hearing about the growth happening in each of you.

Change is scary, but it is growth. It’s how we evolve and develop ourselves to be better than we were yesterday. So commit to the change. Commit to what you’re focused on and who you want to be. It’s going to be scary. There will be moments when you don’t know what to do. I talked about flat squirrels just a week or so ago—you need to make a commitment and then move. Run across that road! Don’t find yourself darting back and forth.

I live in a community with a lot of squirrels. And I don’t want to go too deep into that analogy again, but I want you to understand that while change is scary, it’s how we grow and develop into better people than we were yesterday. I believe in you, I know we can do this together as a team.

The changes happening in Northwest Enforcement are sometimes hard and scary, but we are developing into better versions of ourselves. We’re growing in a positive, yet challenging way. I know that’s hard for some of us. I don’t minimize it—change is still scary for me too. But I embrace it by jumping into it and holding on tight. That’s just who I am.

I could tell you a story about the time I jumped out of a helicopter, but I don’t want to get too far off track. If you ever want to hear that story, come have a cup of coffee with me. I’ll chat with you about helicopters and all the crazy things that go on inside of them. You think it’s all cool, but there’s some pretty interesting stuff there.

Back to change—yes, change is scary, but it’s growth, and we can do it together. Thank you for your investment in Northwest Enforcement. Thank you for your time and effort in being the best version of yourself. For growing. Thank you for reading books that enhance your growth and strengthen your mind. For those of you hitting the gym, keeping yourselves healthy so you can do the work we do—thank you for that too.

God bless you all. Have a wonderful rest of your week, and remember—let’s be valuable. Nothing less will do. I’ll talk to you next week. See you later!