I think it was Einstein who said, “You will never solve a problem with the same mind that created it”. In other words, ‘the perspective (mindset) which causes us to see something as a problem is the very thing that will get in the way of fixing it’.
Instead, if we focus on the bigger picture, the main goal or destination, then problems are just things to be overcome; ‘stones in the road’.
Tripping or stepping over stones?
How does that apply in the real world? Let’s say that you are heading away on a business trip. You get to the airport and discover you have left your passport at home.
Do you: (a) start panicking and thinking about the missed meetings, upset customers waiting for you or the value of the lost business, or (b) focus on the main goal of being on that airplane in 2 hours and get a colleague who has a car to drive to your home and return to the airport with said passport? … Most likely (b)!
But what if they were too late and you missed the flight by the time they returned to the airport? Do you (a) start beating yourself up and again begin thinking of all of the negative implications of having missed the flight or (b) focus on the main objective of getting to your destination and booking the next available flight, even if it blows your budget? … Most likely (b) … Again!
Why? Because you have decided that you have committed to the trip and quite obviously NOTHING is going to stop you going. So, it is the clear focus, determination and commitment that gets you there.
So, what in your business or career do you want to create right now?
Why haven’t you already got it or created it? Be honest with yourself.
Commitment, desire and determination
Perhaps it is because you’re paying more attention to individual steps and therefore the problems (whether they be perceived or real) that lie ahead and you’re NOT focussed on the actual thing that you want. As a result you are being thrown off course or even stalled in your progress by the annoying ‘stones’. Only commitment to the end result and the desire and determination to achieve it will drive you to overcome the inevitable obstacles!
Time to get back to focussing on what you want to create and fire up that unstoppable determination!
Photo by Kathirvel Balakrishnan on Unsplash