Got a bit of a shock today. Our landlords of 10 years announced they’re planning to sell up.
Their reasoning is that they want to avoid any complication when it comes to changes in rules on Capital Gains Tax and buy outright the home they currently rent from their own parents.
Fair enough.
But 10 years is the longest I’ve ever lived in the same place, so you’ll surely understand that my initial reaction was a bit like getting sacked. And like getting the push, I simply couldn’t think of anything else: news like that is bound to put a crimp in your day.
Part of this contemplation was thinking of all the occasions I actually have lost a job and I slowly came to realise that, in every case, the end result has been positive: more money, better conditions, nicer workmates, free drinks, etc., etc.
And, truth be told, in almost every case the writing had been on the wall for months years, beforehand. Actually, I was always in that dreaded “Comfort Zone” where I wasn’t as comfortable as I thought and had zoned out all the bad stuff.
Fact is, when you stay in one place — literally and figuratively — long enough, you can start to feel that it’s easier to ignore life’s little niggles than do something about them.
At times like this, a kick up the backside may be just what you need to get you out of a rut.
Don’t get me wrong, I like where I live. It’s familiar. But there are plenty of little niggles, not least that as my family has grown up, the house has shrunk…
My friend James Geary, the world authority on Aphorisms and himself no stranger to job loss, quotes former Episcopal Bishop of Chicago, Gerald Burrill, as saying:
The difference between a rut and a grave is the depth
So here’s to a change of address and a chance to find a new comfort zone better than the last.