About this quote

People tend to surround themselves with safe, predictable rule-followers who always say the right thing. But safety gets boring fast, and it rarely pushes you to grow. You need that outspoken friend who breaks minor rules and tells you the raw truth. They disrupt your comfortable patterns and force you to look at your rigid boundaries. Do you have someone in your life who challenges your neat little order, or are you playing it too safe?

When to use it

• Your friend is dating a straight-laced partner and complains about the lack of excitement. You tell them, 'You are bored because they agree with everything; you actually need someone who ruffles your feathers a bit.'
• A colleague hesitates to pitch an unconventional marketing campaign to a conservative board. You urge them, 'Go ahead and pitch the wild idea because this office is dying of boredom and needs someone to shake things up.'
• You try to convince your hyper-organized sibling to go on a spontaneous, unplanned road trip. You tell them, 'Put the planner away, we are leaving right now because you desperately need some chaos in your schedule.'