What Hanging on Too Long Can Cost You

I’ve shared this story before, but if you haven’t heard it yet, I hope it helps.

We’ve owned our gym business for the past 12 years. Everyone knows the lockdowns were hard, and like many businesses, we lost members, lost revenue, and had to make tough decisions.

One of those decisions was downsizing.

At the time, we had 10,000 square feet of gym space. Before the first closure, every square foot was well utilized, but after multiple shutdowns, everything changed.

I knew in my head that we didn’t need the extra 3,000 square feet anymore. Our model had changed, and downsizing was the obvious choice.

But I held on for far too long.

The lease was an extra $2,400 a month. That added up to $28,800 over the course of a year.

I was hopeful things would bounce back. I wanted to hold onto what was instead of accepting what was now.

The current was pushing me downstream, but I kept trying to swim against it.

At some point, I had to accept that seasons change. And sometimes, you do more harm fighting the season than surrendering to it.

A tree doesn’t fight its seasons. It doesn’t cling to its leaves in the winter, trying to force them to stay. It just trees.

When we finally let go of that space, it felt like a weight was lifted. Our gym became more profitable and even more intimate for our members.

I don’t miss it at all.

Maybe you’re in a season where you need to let go of something. Maybe you’ve been through one before.