Maybe. Maybe not. It’s relative. It all depends on what you are comparing it to. And sometimes expensive is a badge of honour we wear proudly. It gives us status. Other times we use it lazily to dismiss an option.

Interestingly we rarely recognise or acknowledge the terms we use are relative. We dismiss an option as expensive (or whatever other terms you wish to insert) without stating what we are comparing it to. And we almost always forget about the cost of our own time when we compare it to doing it ourselves.

This is true in our personal and family lives as well as our organisational lives. And it’s true when talking about change. And let’s be clear, there is no right choice. The important thing is to be making clear and conscious choices. Bringing in expertise – a person or a product – can be hugely beneficial in some situations. Doing it yourself and learning as you go can also be hugely beneficial. However, both can also be terrible choices.

We use relative terms all the time. Often as a lazy way to dismiss options we don’t like. Making choices and criteria conscious enables us to ‘see’ more clearly and then decide. This is critical in change, especially as a group.

The choice is up to us.

This also reminds me of the ‘Knowing where to Tap‘ story.

Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters