I had a dream about cooking the turkey for Thanksgiving. In the dream, everyone was coming to our house. Our house was way out in the woods. While waiting for the turkey to cook, everyone went out into the woods. Many were worried about getting lost and missing the day. I kept giving everyone directions that led them deeper into the woods. At the conclusion of the dream, I had a wide view of our property. Turns out we weren’t that deep into the woods. There was just one section of the back yard that was forested. Had any of the guests gone left or right, they would have walked into suburban America. We are often like that in life. We look at how we do things, how we have always done them, and we proceed accordingly. Sometimes we need to take a step back and not just see the forest, but the trees as well.
We see this a lot in the business world. “Institutional inbreeding” has led many companies to fall into obscurity, failure, and bankruptcy. It leads to stagnation. It can happen in our personal lives as well. We see a small amount of success, and then just coast along on that tiny bit for years, never pushing the envelope, never looking for that proverbial forest because we already see the trees.
As the year 2023 comes towards its end, we all tend to look at what we wanted to accomplish, what we have accomplished and what we hope to achieve for next year. Make sure that what you are seeing isn’t just a rehash of the past, but a complete, comprehensive look at how you operate, how you achieve your goals, and if those goals are still what you want. Fix what you can, accept what you cannot and be smart enough to know the difference!