What is On Your No Fly List?

Have you ever avoided something for so long that you stopped asking yourself why?

Not because it was dangerous.

Not because you couldn't do it.

But simply because somewhere along the way, your brain decided it wasn't safe.

That's exactly what happened to me... over a fried egg.

The Fried Egg I Couldn't Eat

For most of my life—literally decades—I couldn't eat a fried egg.

It wasn't a preference.

It wasn't an allergy.

It wasn't even about the taste.

It was conditioning.

Growing up with two older brothers meant breakfast was often accompanied by practical jokes, teasing, and endless attempts to make each other laugh. Every time I dipped my toast into a runny egg yolk, my brothers found the perfect moment to turn breakfast into a comedy routine that left me feeling completely disgusted.

Eventually, my brain connected fried eggs with that feeling.

The association became automatic.

And I never questioned it.

Our Brains Are Trying to Protect Us

The fascinating thing about the human brain is that it's always working to keep us safe.

The problem?

It doesn't always know when the danger has passed.

What protected us at ten years old often continues running in the background when we're forty, fifty, or sixty.

Our brains create shortcuts.

They make associations.

Sometimes those associations serve us.

Sometimes they quietly limit us for decades.

The Korean Restaurant That Changed Everything

A few weeks ago, I found myself at a Korean restaurant with a close friend.

She ordered for us, and when the meal arrived, there it was.

A fried egg.

Right on top.

Before I could politely avoid it, she cut into the egg, mixed the runny yolk throughout the entire dish, and served half onto my plate.

For a moment, I froze.

Then something unexpected happened.

Instead of reacting automatically, I became curious.

I asked myself:

"Carrie... you're sixty years old. Your brothers aren't here. Nobody is making fun of you. Why are you still letting a childhood experience decide what's on your dinner plate?"

So I took a bite.

It was delicious.

But the real victory wasn't eating the egg.

The victory was realizing how many years I had lived according to a story that no longer served me.

What Are Your "Eggs"?

Most of us have them.

Not literal eggs.

But emotional ones.

There are opportunities we don't pursue.

Conversations we never have.

Dreams we quietly put away.

Risks we avoid.

Relationships we never repair.

Not because we can't.

But because somewhere along the way, something happened that convinced us we shouldn't.

Maybe someone laughed when you spoke up.

Maybe you failed once and decided you weren't capable.

Maybe someone told you leadership wasn't for you.

Maybe you learned that asking for help wasn't safe.

So you adapted.

And that adaptation became your reality.

Survival Isn't the Same as Living

One of the most powerful realizations I've had is this:

Most limiting beliefs begin as survival strategies.

At one point, those beliefs made sense.

They helped us navigate difficult situations.

Protect ourselves.

Avoid pain.

But survival strategies aren't meant to become lifelong identities.

The challenge comes when we continue living by rules that no longer apply.

We keep honoring limitations that no one else is enforcing.

Except ourselves.

Permission Isn't Coming

So many of us spend our lives waiting.

Waiting for permission to change.

Permission to start over.

Permission to disappoint people.

Permission to choose differently.

Permission to take up space.

But here's the truth:

No one was ever coming to my breakfast table to tell me it was okay to eat the eggs.

And no one is coming to hand you permission either.

At some point, growth requires us to give ourselves permission.

Permission to question old stories.

Permission to rewrite outdated beliefs.

Permission to become who we were always meant to be.

Growth Isn't Always About Learning More

We often think personal growth means adding something.

Another book.

Another course.

Another certification.

Another strategy.

Sometimes it does.

But sometimes growth looks very different.

Sometimes it's about releasing.

Questioning.

Letting go.

Because often the greatest breakthrough isn't discovering something new.

It's finally realizing something old is no longer true.

What's on Your No-Fly List?

Take a few quiet moments today and ask yourself:

What have I been avoiding?

Why?

Is this really true?

Or is it simply a story I've never challenged?

You don't have to make dramatic changes overnight.

You don't have to overhaul your entire life.

Sometimes freedom begins with curiosity.

Sometimes it begins with one question.

Sometimes...

It begins by finally eating the eggs.

Journal Prompt

What eggs are still on your no-fly list?

What are you avoiding because of an old experience, an old fear, an old story, or an old version of yourself?

And what might become possible if you questioned it?

Your future may not require becoming someone new.

It may simply require letting go of a story you've carried far longer than you needed to.