It was 3 am when I headed out the door and headed off to BWI for a quick three-day trip to Monterey where I was speaking at a credit union conference.
My normal two hour drive to the airport serves as valuable thought time, and is usually quite enjoyable. But this morning, not only was the hour unGodly, the weather was even worse.
The further inland I drove, the denser the fog became. By the time I reached the Chesapeake Bay Bridge, I literally could see no more than a few feet in front of me. The fog was so thick that I drove long stretches of road with no real idea where I was…almost missing the I-97 turn-off from Route 50 to head to the airport.
But for some reason the fog didn’t bother me all that much on the drive. Sure my arms were tense, my shoulders sore, and my eyes tired when I arrived at the airport. But at that time of day, that was somewhat expected after a long drive.
What happened that I did not expect was that the fog actually fueled my thinking about some issues that have been dominating my mind these past few weeks. It was an apt metaphor for the combined state of information overload and decision hesitation that’s been plaguing me, and it led me to some important realizations.
No doubt some of you are familiar with this scenario. It happens when you are in the midst of a major push in your business and there are many potential pathways available for the next step. As you research options, talk about it with people you respect, and run through various scenarios, the only thing that seems clear is that you cannot see very far in front of you…much like my foggy drive to BWI. At times like this, making any choice becomes more difficult than usual because you just don’t know which path to choose and it is often difficult to distinguish between them (much like finding the right exit in the dense fog).
Here’s what I learned from my drive to BWI that foggy morning…
- Just because things are unclear, it doesn’t mean you are on the wrong path, heading the wrong way, or that you will not arrive where you originally intended; and
- There is value in continuing to take action, even in the face of uncertainty and risk, slow and steady progress will yield results of some kind and put you further ahead than you were when you started.
So the next time you feel a bit lost in the fog and looking for answers, relax and keep moving forward…it really is the only thing you can do to keep things on track!
Share This
Read more at: .
|
