One of our daughters and son-in-law bought us a certificate for a two hour rock climbing adventure. After making sure our insurance premiums were paid, we made an appointment and with some trepidation, showed up for our time in the harness.
The first climb was pretty uneventful and, frankly, boring. I climbed up half way and then stopped, telling the instructor that it just wasn’t any fun. He was a little perplexed, but we moved on. At the next place, he showed me that the climb would not be so easy. Physically it wasn’t going to be more difficult but it would require more planning and intellectual flexibility. In his words “this one is harder.” I agreed to try it. Wow, what a difference! This was fun. It wasn’t so bloody obvious what to do. Sometime I had to “climb sideways” to make progress. Ah-ha, now you have my attention!
If you are finding yourself bored with your role, your life, your boss, your furniture lay-out, you might be reenergized by less change than you think will be required. Sometimes you don’t need to change what you are doing but how you are approaching it to get some juice going and make rapid progress.
– Consider taking a “lateral” move if you are in an organization. If it gives you a better toe-hold, it could be worth it.
– Read a book that is different than what you usually read. If you aren’t reading, then that would explain a few things. Start, immediately.
– Get over the need for linear progress. There is rarely such a thing but sometimes we act as though we think there is.
– Do something differently, even a small thing can prompt new thinking. Try something new and then be aware of what happens, what you think, what comes into view.
– Keep your eye on your objectives and let go of rigid adherence to method.
It’s tough to learn if we think we know everything and that includes what something will be like before we have any way to know. Really talented, smart and successful people tend to be curious – what are you doing to explore?
