Thought of the Week 6-4-2008
"Obstacles are those frightful things you
see when you take your eyes off your goal."
— Henry Ford
Do you know where to find the best fishing spots? You’ll usually find most fish where you find the most obstacles: rocks, roots, brush, wreckage, and near banks and dams. Novice fishermen can’t see past the obstacles and will spend their day battling the debris rather than fishing. The pro, on the other hand, never loses sight of the big catch and therefore skillfully maneuvers around any obstacles. No matter what big fish you wish to land — more income, a better career, a more accomplished life — never take your eyes off it. Or the "big one" might just get away.
I actually think obstacles are in our paths to make us better at what we do.
They…
- Teach us about focus.
- Pound our stated beliefs and values into us or encourage us to adjust to rest and re-evaluate our values. (Pruning the old to allow new growth).
- Make us stronger.
- Often times afford the very change in perspective needed to make us creative.
- Are on every path.
- Help us slow down.
- Reframe the dream.
And just a note about pruning; my dad is a lifetime logger and one thing I learned from him about planting trees and new bushes is that you should plant a sapling or tree, then at the end of the season when it’s growing fairly well, cut it back and prune its old growth. When it comes back the next year, the new growth often is exponential. Pruning is a process that causes loss to afford gain and growth!
Putting it to Action this Month:
- Allow ourselves to be pruned by our obstacles: If we aren’t pruning, then we can’t grow well.
- Let’s reframe the dreams: Rethink it all.
- Focus in on the values: The side note to this is to get rid of anything that’s not a value (Again pruning).
- Slow Down: Get time with family. This is vacation season. REALLY TAKE ONE! Turn everything off, relax, de-tox, de-tech, de-stress.
- Take a moment to do something creative. Cars, Painting, Drawing, Writing, Building, Singing, Playing Instruments, plan a getaway with you family, take photos, scrapbook, blog, or anything else outside the box.
- Do something spontaneous. Live on the wild side and get a tattoo to commemorate it…
Ok, maybe not the tattoo, but everything else I said. HAHAHAHA!
So, Take Care! And have a great week.
And reset your eyes on the goal!
I believe in you!
Dustin Hedrick
Optimist & Peacemaker