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Not all progress is forwards

As a Change ‘expert’, this shouldn’t be news, but as a human being it is always hard to recognise that not all progress is forwards.  Just as in the marathon at a certain point you ‘hit the wall’, in life and in business one sets out on a journey and sometimes it is not only ‘uphill’, but sometimes the terrain takes you back on yourself.  Recently it has felt a bit like this for me; no sooner have I sorted one problem or issue out than two more take its place!  I won’t bore you with all the rubbish that has been going on, it is neither serious enough nor interesting enough to recount.  However, it is emotionally wearing.

So if like me the current of life seems to be taking you backwards despite your very best endeavours, take heart, the tide will turn and I hear tell it is good for the soul…. [goodie, goodie!]

What do you do at times like this?

“Life must be understood backwards; but… it must be lived forward.”   Soren Kierkegaard

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This entry was posted on Tuesday, July 21st, 2009 at 20:29 and is filed under Business Change, Personal Change. 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.

4 Responses to “Not all progress is forwards”

  1. Ron Davidson says:
    21 July , 2009 at 21:53

    Part of our “learning” has taught us to think or reason “logically” – one idea leads to another in a sort of linear fashion. If I do ‘this’, then ‘that’ will happen, then I can do what follows…

    I’m reminded of some stuff I read recently. It goes:
    “…two kinds of risks: subways and coconuts. You can do research and be relatively sure that the subway will be predictable most of the time. On the other hand, you know that coconuts fall from trees, but you can’t predict when they will fall or where they will land. So, you can plan for the subways, but it is difficult to plan for the coconuts.”
    (thanks to:- a new book called ‘Dance with chance, making luck work for you’ authors Spyros Makridakis, Robin Hogarth.)

    However, a bit like the theories that space is warped, and using “wormholes” vast distances can be covered in seconds, change is similar. It has it’s own kind of wormholes that can take you back to where you started – or nearly back!

    I’m not sure if any of this makes sense. Part of our (my) role in change is to try to make sense of what has or is happening, and to help others make sense of it too.

    Good luck Richard – I’m back!

  2. richardderwentcooke says:
    21 July , 2009 at 22:07

    I tend to think it is a bit like a game of Snakes and Ladders.

    Another thought it sometimes accepting that it doesn’t make sense, and needn’t make sense. Thinks make sense when we have the right data but we never have a full set so I think that there are times when we are better served by a bit of faith and trust… tough as that can be … and it is!!

  3. Ron Davidson says:
    21 July , 2009 at 22:13

    I can’t help thinking that your piece on “Pace” is very connected to this blog.

  4. richardderwentcooke says:
    22 July , 2009 at 09:46

    Thanks I’ll re- read that and give it some thought

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