Image: Dangling Shoes from Pixabay. The phrase "waiting for the other shoe to drop" originates from early 20th-century New York City tenements, where thin floors made it possible to hear upstairs neighbors preparing for bed by dropping one shoe, and then anxiously awaiting the second thud. Over time, the phrase evolved from this literal experience to its current idiomatic meaning: to anticipate an inevitable, often negative, event or outcome.
Self growth is tender; it's holy ground. There's no higher investment.