The old saying is that the grass is greener on the other side. Or is it that the grass is not greener?
Today I walked by my neighbor’s horses and thought “I gotta get my camera!” I missed the shot, but the one below was good enough to show my point. THE SHOT was when the black horse, which is in the background on the right, was looking at the brown horse enjoying his food. It was an awesome contrast to see the brown one enjoying life, and the black one looking utterly bored on his no-greens side.
I talk to people all the time who wonder how green the grass is on the other side of the fence. Sometimes the grass is greener. Many times it isn’t.
Instead of focusing on that, though, let’s focus on the non-green side… the right side. We’re not talking about jumping from greenish to super-green… in this situation we’re talking about the difference between bleak, scarce, horrible to life-sustaining.
Sometimes the opportunities are better, but looking at where we are, we’re discrediting ourselves.
Of course, there will be another field with greener grass… but sometimes the change you need to make IS definitely to the other pasture, where the grass is green enough.
Companies have already defined loyalty for us… we don’t need to worry too much about crossing a company. Heck, the person who feels crossed will likely not be there in three years…
As I have always said to my employees, you have to do what’s best for you and your family. And sometimes that means leaving my field and going to something better.
* This doesn’t apply to my team right now – I want them to stay around for many more years 🙂 🙂
Another Perspective On “The Grass Is Greener”
Funny story: Years ago I hired a lawn company to spray weeds and make my grass greener. This wasn’t because I was flush with cash, rather I was frustrated by my own failed efforts and needed to bring in the experts. I had spent too much time and too much money trying to keep my weeds under control and get my grass looking decently healthy.
After a few treatments I saw virtually no changes. Sure, maybe the weeds were down a little, but my grass was not green or healthy looking. The next time the lawn tech came out I met him in the front yard and asked why my neighbor’s grass is greener and mine looks the same as it did before I started to pay them.
This lawn tech’s response is something I haven’t forgotten since that day. Honestly, I’m still not sure how I feel about it. He walked me around my yard and we talked about different parts of the yard. I kept saying, “look at my neighbors grass. His grass is greener than mine!”
Lest you think I’m all about keeping up with the neighbor, I’m not. But I wanted to provide a reference point to what my concern was.
The tech finally said, “Let’s walk over there.” I didn’t realize the tech knew my concerns and had walked over to check out my neighbor’s lawn before we talked. Anyway, he said, “Look at this… the lawn looks good, the grass is greener, but look at this weed count.”
Because we were there, on top of the lawn, it was easy to see there were indeed a lot of dandelions. Tons of them. You couldn’t see them from my yard, but once you got to his yard it was undeniable.
Soooooooo, maybe “the grass is greener” isn’t’ the only criteria you should look at? Afterall, would you like to work in a place where the grass is greener but it’s full of weeds?
Perhaps not.
Generally, the Grass Is Greener Where You Take Care of It