Going backwards to go forwards

I was playing a game of solitaire this morning and got ‘stuck’ in a game that was nearly out. The only way to resolve it was to use cards I had already ‘got out’ and bring them back into play. Sure enough, the game worked out. This reminded me of a time on a climbing wall when I got stuck and the instructor said to me “Sometimes you have to climb down, to go back up”, even at the time, I was struck by the profundity of the statement.

It is human nature to want to cling on to our ‘gains’, and I think that it is even more so for Western males; the idea of going back, or backing down, just feels totally counter-cultural; and yet, sometimes this is the only way we can move on.

Today, I wonder if there is a way for you to make progress by going back and picking a different way up your wall, it is the nearest thing the Universe offers to a ‘do-over’ (short of reincarnation!) Good Luck!

 

“Courage doesn’t always roar. Sometimes courage is the quiet voice at the end of the day saying, “I will try again tomorrow.” Mary Anne Radmacher

“What would life be if we had no courage to attempt anything?” Vincent van Gogh

 

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 26th, 2008 at 10:24 and is filed under Hints, Tips & Techniques, Leadership, Personal Change, Values & Philosophy. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.