Did you know that king crab are an invasive species? (At least in Norway). But that’s not the point of today’s post. The point of today’s post is to notice what it feels like when your shell is getting too small.
King crabs get a new shell once a year, and fishers can’t catch them during the time that one shell cracks and a new one hardens. Despite being an invasive species, they are known to be too vulnerable during that transition time and need to be protected.
This got me thinking: what does it feel like just before your too-small shell cracks open? Or, as I asked a coaching client this week, “How might you know you’ve outgrown your current situation?”
Because unlike a crab, we get to choose when it’s time to move on.
Those of us with lots of grit might stick with something well past the stage of it serving us. We have a tendency to hold on to stories or identities that are no longer true for who we are now.
So, it can be useful to anticipate possible ways you might know it’s time to close a chapter. The signals might be gradual, and probably increasingly uncomfortable. It helps to know what you’re watching for.
