Moving on with your life is an under-recognized positive quality. It is much easier to remain mired in the past, complaining about things, pointing fingers at what has gone wrong.
The importance of looking forward and embracing change versus looking backwards and whining about what didn’t work out came home to me recently after reading a lengthy column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Several years ago, a MAJOR project – Foxconn – hit the headlines. After significant negotiations, tax breaks, public policy decisions, etc., land was selected in the southeast part of Wisconsin, near Racine and Kenosha, to construct their facility.
Flat screens for televisions and computers was the expected output of the facility, projected to require a humungous acreage and tremendous amounts of water, requiring home buyouts to service the facility. What Foxconn said it was going to do in terms of production and output is not even close to what has occurred. That is not good for the local community, nor for the state of Wisconsin. Emotions run high. Billions of dollars are involved.
The column in the MJS summarized much of this. But, that wasn’t the point of the writer. She wanted to look forward, figure out what came next, and see a decision made that recognized current circumstances and brought a positive business climate in Wisconsin. Made sense.
She moved on. She thought about what should happen next. She wrote about multiple options that could make the best of a poor situation, and improve on it.
There are many times in life we need to move on. Not just in situations like Foxconn, where huge amounts of money and complicated technical and speculative questions had to be addressed to handle things in the best interests of the state.
Sometimes we need to move on by downsizing our house. The kids are gone. You don’t need space. You may not be able to keep up with maintenance or want to do something else rather than do yardwork and fix up your house. It’s time to move on.
You may have a worn-out bicycle that you keep taking in for repairs. It spends more time in the shop than under your butt. It’s time to move on, and purchase a new set of wheels.
Logically AND intuitively, I believe we often recognize when it is time to move on, but we don’t get there. Inertia takes over. We won’t make a decision. Something holds us back (“I love that bicycle and just can’t part ways with it.”).
And, it can be easier to complain (as it this case about Foxconn), rather than looking at the way issues stand today, realizing the original postulated scenario ain’t working and ain’t going to work, then regrouping with up-to-date data, recalibrating, and making an informed decision to move forward.
That was the essence of the woman’s column. I hope a lot of people read it, because her points were deeper than the sole issue of Foxconn’s future. Her point goes to the heart of how too many of us operate daily – by looking backwards at things we can’t change, and complaining. Instead of recognizing where things stand, and figuring current circumstances out to make the best decision for the most benefit in the future.
We have big windshields in cars and small rearview mirrors. Because it’s more important to see the road ahead than to look behind us. Look ahead with a fresh light, and try something new. Let the tired past go. You aren’t going to change it.
The importance of looking forward and embracing change versus looking backwards and whining about what didn’t work out came home to me recently after reading a lengthy column in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Several years ago, a MAJOR project – Foxconn – hit the headlines. After significant negotiations, tax breaks, public policy decisions, etc., land was selected in the southeast part of Wisconsin, near Racine and Kenosha, to construct their facility.
Flat screens for televisions and computers was the expected output of the facility, projected to require a humungous acreage and tremendous amounts of water, requiring home buyouts to service the facility. What Foxconn said it was going to do in terms of production and output is not even close to what has occurred. That is not good for the local community, nor for the state of Wisconsin. Emotions run high. Billions of dollars are involved.
The column in the MJS summarized much of this. But, that wasn’t the point of the writer. She wanted to look forward, figure out what came next, and see a decision made that recognized current circumstances and brought a positive business climate in Wisconsin. Made sense.
She moved on. She thought about what should happen next. She wrote about multiple options that could make the best of a poor situation, and improve on it.
There are many times in life we need to move on. Not just in situations like Foxconn, where huge amounts of money and complicated technical and speculative questions had to be addressed to handle things in the best interests of the state.
Sometimes we need to move on by downsizing our house. The kids are gone. You don’t need space. You may not be able to keep up with maintenance or want to do something else rather than do yardwork and fix up your house. It’s time to move on.
You may have a worn-out bicycle that you keep taking in for repairs. It spends more time in the shop than under your butt. It’s time to move on, and purchase a new set of wheels.
Logically AND intuitively, I believe we often recognize when it is time to move on, but we don’t get there. Inertia takes over. We won’t make a decision. Something holds us back (“I love that bicycle and just can’t part ways with it.”).
And, it can be easier to complain (as it this case about Foxconn), rather than looking at the way issues stand today, realizing the original postulated scenario ain’t working and ain’t going to work, then regrouping with up-to-date data, recalibrating, and making an informed decision to move forward.
That was the essence of the woman’s column. I hope a lot of people read it, because her points were deeper than the sole issue of Foxconn’s future. Her point goes to the heart of how too many of us operate daily – by looking backwards at things we can’t change, and complaining. Instead of recognizing where things stand, and figuring current circumstances out to make the best decision for the most benefit in the future.
We have big windshields in cars and small rearview mirrors. Because it’s more important to see the road ahead than to look behind us. Look ahead with a fresh light, and try something new. Let the tired past go. You aren’t going to change it.