If you never change your shoes, do you ever grow?
“If you never change your shoes, you never grow” — a line from an ad that turned out to be deeper than it first seemed. A note on flexibility, change, and the point where adaptation turns into flailing.
There is an old joke: “In this city, you can get caught in rain, snow, and sunshine three times in one day — all on your way to the store.” In moments like that, you realize that without “changing your shoes,” you simply will not survive here. But the other day I saw an ad with this phrase at the Yandex Museum, and it made me think: this is about much more than shoes.
We live in a world where everything flows and everything changes. What seemed normal ten years ago can look ridiculous today. Remember button phones with polyphonic ringtones? Back then, we argued about whose ringtone was louder and “higher quality.” Now it is good for little more than scaring the cat.
The same applies to habits and beliefs. At one point, a job “for life” seemed like the goal. Today it sounds more like a horror story: what do you mean, 30 years in the same office, at the same desk, with the same water cooler? The world changes, and we have to adjust along with it.
Of course, “changing shoes” has a bad reputation. You immediately think of a politician who manages to change three opinions overnight. But in real life, flexibility is not the same as betraying yourself. It is more like the ability to survive and keep moving. You have to admit, it would be strange to stride proudly across winter ice in sandals just because “I chose this, so I am seeing it through to the end.”
On the other hand, if you change “shoes” too often, you can lose the ground under your feet. After all, change is not the only thing that matters. Having a foundation matters too — something you believe in, something that gives you a sense of direction.
So the real question is not whether to “change shoes” or not. The question is: where is the line where flexibility turns into endless flailing?
Personally, I think you do need to change shoes. But not for fashion or because of the current trend. You do it so you do not one day find yourself in a situation where your old rules no longer work.