The Winding Road of Change

“The shortest path between two points is a straight line” has been said so many times that it borders on cliché. It’s a true statement, but that doesn’t necessarily make it the best approach when it comes to change. How many times have you tried to change something where you were able to get there by a straight path? In my life, at work or at home, the answer is pretty much zero. What that means is that we need to embrace the winding road so that we don’t quickly abandon our goals.

Agile is often described as an iterative approach. We make a small change, then we loop back, evaluate how that change went and then move on to the next change. Sometimes you have to loop back several times before you get something the way you want and are able to move forward. That’s ok, better to do that now and not give up.

Life is a process of discovery. Each new discovery may alter your course. We should expect that. We should embrace that. Over the years I’ve learned that its not realistic to plan out every detail before you get started. It’s the earliest days of any change you know the least about how you’re going to get where you’re going. What you know is where you want to go, or at least where you think you want to go. The later may also change as you learn more while walking the road.

If you’ve been schooled in a western thought it’s going to be tough learning to let go of the detailed plan when necessary and allow for the inevitable changes that life brings to help you chart your course. Good luck and I’ll meet you at the end!