What if safety is just an illusion?
We have all heard and may have said, "I'd rather be safe than sorry." My version in the corporate arena was always, "the devil you know…" Either way, it rolls off the tongue, sounding like wisdom, but it can be the most dangerous corporate advice we can follow. It feels responsible, keeping you out of trouble and with a paycheck.

But what if it keeps you right where you are, never to move again?

I always talk to leaders who say they want more money, responsibility, or challenges, but their actions do not match their words.

You can't have it both ways. Safety is a story we tell ourselves about avoiding risk, but it is that very risk that drives the feedback loop, which leads to failure and growth. The irony is that "sorry" isn't as scary as we make it. Mistakes, rejection, and failed ideas may stall us, but they're survivable. In reality, they're the moments that sharpen vision and build resilience. What isn't survivable is a career built on holding back.

The real "sorry" shows up years later, when you realize you traded possibility for protection.

What has happened to your drive and ambition?
Have you added a "but" to the stories you tell yourself about your career?

I could do that back in the day, but now I have a family.
I would say it, but they never listen.
I should ask for more, but then I would have to do more.

The corporate arena can feel like a field of land mines, and the more we add the "buts" to our stories, the further we stray from our true selves, our real potential, and the life waiting for us.

What is hiding in your safe spaces?
While fear often drives safety, desire, ambition, and regret sit quietly in the background. They sneak in to push you, but your brain (fear) pushes back with the stories of everything that could go wrong, so you stay safe.

Fear says, "Don't be selfish; you have it good here. Your family has a nice life, and the 401 (k) could be worse." While potential whispers, "You are so talented, and your impact could be so much greater if you stopped hiding."

Fear says, "If you ask for the promotion and don't get it, it might end your career with this company." At the same time, ambition tries to get your attention with the possibilities of what could be if you just believed in yourself.

Fear reminds you, "If you say it out loud, you can't take it back." And ambition quietly knows it will never happen if you can't verbalize it.

Safe Isn't Safe. It's the Slow Road to Regret.
So what if safe isn't better than sorry, instead the answer is better bold than stuck?

The real risk isn't being sorry for a mistake, it's being sorry for the years you spent hiding behind safety.

Where are you still choosing safe, and what might it cost you later?