Take a Step Back…
Everybody wants to get ahead, to save time, be first in line and make their personal goals a reality. Sound familiar? In our culture, we place a high value on the kind of behaviour that’s goal- and task-oriented. Whilst often laudable, this tendency has also produced some strange consequences. If you follow the trends on social media, you’ll know that we tend to admire people who know what they want and are willing to push hard to get their way. It’s as if we’re programmed to follow leaders who exude confidence and certainty. Unfortunately, the research consistently confirms that, even though we often promote and elect people on the basis of their confidence and charisma, these traits are a very poor substitute for professional competence. We retain a sneaking admiration for stubbornness in the quest for success. But constantly battling against the obstacles and battering against the closed doorways that block our progress might just be an invitation to consider a different approach.
Many times, the obstacles seem to assume a proportion that presents a personal challenge to our egos. We take the problem personally and that’s when we lose our objectivity. Then we get stuck in a very narrow perspective that focuses more and more on the problems or difficulties. With such a narrow view, we lose sight of the of the bigger picture. And that’s exactly when we need to take a step back. That’s the moment when we need to detach ourselves from the struggle, take a deep breath and turn our attention elsewhere until a clearer perspective has been regained.
It’s surprising that this happens so often. That we can’t see the wood for the trees. That our ability to identify solutions is often hindered by our self-imposed myopia. When we create distance between our perception and the problems we’re confronting, a clearer view arises spontaneously that helps us to see the situation with fresh eyes and an essential measure of objectivity.
领英推荐
If you’ve been banging your head against a particular difficulty and haven’t found the answer, take a step back and give your higher brain function the space to analyse the situation from a fresh perspective. You might be pleasantly surprised at your newly-unleashed creativity.