Walks in the Park

My “walks in the park” continue to provide me with many moments of reflection. Recently I took my usual hike on a loop trail, but reversed my direction. This was after several years of walking the same route in the same direction. What a revelation! The same terrain looked quite different from the opposite direction. The views were even more enjoyable. I savored the usual landmarks from a different perspective. The familiar was made new.

Food for Thought ~
How often do we become habituated to our accustomed patterns and ways of doing things at work? Most of us develop a mindset, a way of viewing the people and issues in our workplace. We sit in the same place at meetings. We have formulated opinions that are dear to us. But how much richer our life and work can be when we purposefully try to see things from another perspective. Try on an opposing viewpoint to see what it has to teach you. Change your meeting venue, your room arrangement, your seat at the table. Let go of doing things the same way just because it’s customary. There’s much to be gained from trying on new perspectives.

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.” ~ Marcel Proust

Question of the day ~

Are there any aspects of your work that have become too much a matter of habit and comfortable patterns? How might you enrich your work with a fresh perspective?