A standard traffic signal tells us what to do. Red, stop. Green, go.

But stop signs are different: they perpetually tell us to stop. Stop signs don’t turn into “go” signs. Instead, the job is ours to know when it’s safe to proceed.

In life, there are plenty of good reasons to stop. But it’s important to recognize whether we’re at a signal or a sign.

Waiting for a stop sign to change is a good way to get stuck … because it will never change. There’s not going to be a green light. No signal. No one to wave us forward. Just us having recognized that it’s safe to proceed — and then going.