When you have "big shoes to fill"..! Pt 1

ejemai (73)in #writing • 7 years ago (edited)

I have often heard the phrase, "having big shoes to fill" and though before now I never really stopped and thought about it in its entirety today, I guess my write instinct is pricked.
Don't you just wonder what certain words mean even when on hearing it you think you know?

WHAT IS SHOE AND HOW DID IT BECOME SYNONYMOUS WITH EXPECTATION AND PERFORMANCE?
Shoe is defined as that shoe you are wearing at the moment...hehehe. Layman's definition is always easy and I just love it.
But for those "NOT" laymen, Shoe(s) is defined as one of or a pair of outer coverings for your feet, usually made of leather, plastic or cloth. Simple enough definition that even the laymen too can understand.

Okay, lets go crazy with some idiomatics.

Filling someone's shoes: means doing the job that they used to do. You use this expression when the first person did a good job.
To be in somebody's shoes/Put yourself in somebody's shoes: means to be in or imagine oneself in another persons situation, especially when it is a difficult or unpleasant one. If I were in your shoes, I'd resign immediately.
There are also words like, "he who wears the shoe knows where it pinches."

A BIG SHOE TO FILL.

Okay, lets hands off the dictionary and really talk about filling big shoes.
The shoe covers the feet thereby giving protection against harmful objects as well as proving and giving fittings.

So the real word here is having big shoes to fill and it is in relation to stepping into a position someone else has been in especially if they have exceptional records to show for the work they have done; This happens in every area of life.

Sometimes, you hear someone say "I cannot fill your shoes" or "your shoes will be too big to fill".

REMEMBER, YOU WILL ONLY BE REQUIRED TO FILL BIG SHOES AND NEVER SMALL SHOES.

LET US BREAK IT DOWN!
WHEN YOU HAVE TO FILL A BIG SHOE.
Filling big shoes is simple and though it is an idiomatic expression that has become a tool for gauging expectation and performance, it works well when you who is looking to fill a big shoe know how you want the shoe to fit.

GET THE RIGHT SIZE OF SHOES- You may be a size 7 and the man whose shoes you are looking to fill is a size 9. Worry not, you can fill a 9 with a 7 feet. How you ask? Just use tissue paper or get some padding and 'vuala', you have filed the 9 with your 7.
This means we are not all born with the same IQ, strength and or weakness and this is good because it is what makes the world go round the way it does.
You mustn't look to do the same thing(s) your predecessor did, because by doing so, you will have failed or negative results. Tackle the assignation like a boss. Know that the same why yo are able to pad a 9 to fit a 7 is the same way you should work on delivering on the job.
WEAR THE SHOES THE WAY IT WILL FIT- The task that you will be expected to come into may be one you are familiar with or know really well, or in most case may know little or nothing about it.
Being a 7 wearing a 9 is hard work and walking around it it can be very tricky , so you must wear the 9 the way you wear the 7.
Remember, there are people who know you are wearing a shoe bigger than you and some hope you will stumble in your struggle to walk in it and ultimately fall. So you must own the 9.
This means you will have to look at your predecessor's target, team, performance and the achievements and then draw a your own target and performance metrics, assemble your team and also workout your expected results.
BLEND THE COLORS- The shoes you are filling may be brown, low ankle and patterned and like me, you love black, high ankle and laced. What do you do then? Blend the colors....