YOUR MIND IS LIKE A PARACHUTE ……………… IT DOES NOT WORK UNLESS IT IS OPEN...........

I am grateful that I grew up in the home of a handyman because I learned to do a lot of things that women are supposedly not to do. Fortunately, I am married to an egalitarian who has no problem being the chef (and a mighty fine one at that) whilst I do the handy work around the house. This is not about role reversal or me wearing the pants in house, but simply about two people being comfortable with the other doing what they do best.

But I digress……

You know the funny thing about a ceiling is that you never actually see what it looks like up close and personal and I guess that is what a comfort zone is like. It looks okay until you look at it closely, as I did my ceiling this weekend. What on earth would I be looking at the ceiling for you are probably wondering.

Some time ago we had a burst pipe in the ceiling of our spare bathroom which left some unsightly stains and which I have been meaning to paint for the longest time. I eventually got around to doing it this weekend past. I got all the necessary equipment ready and forged ahead into unknown but vaguely familiar territory having been involved in home painting exercises on an off in my life. Getting up and down a rickety ladder was quite a balancing act and getting it wedged into places so that I could get to the corners behind the bath proved to be quite a logistical feat.

As I took my first step onto the basin at some stage during the process, I discovered that it is quite unbalanced because of misalignment. A few well-placed coins from SA and the UK quickly remedied the problem on my second trip up there. Getting into those difficult places the second time round were easier because I was more logical having been that way before. I also eventually worked out that if I tightened some of the screws on the ladder it would not wobble that much.

Right now we are in unchartered territory which is pretty much where I found myself as I started out on my quest to paint the ceiling, but as time went by I became smarter and more creative in accessing and manoeuvring into those difficult spots. I realised that it was just that I knew the territory better. What we know about the future is that the more we practise what is unfamiliar to us and let go of our comfort zone, the better equipped we will become on the journey ahead. 

Up to now we have been dipping our toes into the fourth industrial revolution and companies have been loath to trust staff to work off sight because they felt more in control if the individual was sitting under their proverbial noses. Suddenly and without warning Covid-19 struck and these very same employers had to start trusting their staff to keep the wheels of industry turning whilst being at home. In addition to that we have literally been catapulted into the fourth industrial revolution doing Zoom, Skype and WhatsApp meetings in the attempt to keep control of what we thought we had control over, but over which we actually have very little control.

Now is the time to be excited about all the new things you are learning; embrace them, they are not going away. Think out of the box about what you do and about the people around you. Be willing to paint over the old cracks and enjoy the freshness and newness we can anticipate as we go forward into the future.