It was early October in the White Mountains of New Hampshire. Night was coming on fast and I was walking along the ridge of the Presidential Range, above timberline where there is no protection from the weather. The sky threatened snow. I was tired after walking all day. It was time to head down off the ridge. My map showed a camping area about a mile off the main trail, almost straight down a rock-strewn, root-tangled, knee-grinding path. I turned left and headed down.
I worked by dead reckoning. I have enough hiking experience to judge how long it takes to cover a mile by the time elapsed, so I was confident that I would not miss the turnoff to the camping area. Yet after about fifteen minutes I came upon a trio of hikers engaged in intense conversation. As I approached, one of them turned to me and asked if I knew where the camping area was. I looked at my watch, did a quick calculation and said, “Sure. It’s probably about a half mile down. Maybe a little less.” This is where things got strange.
The man started to argue with me. He asserted the campground should be right here. I asked how he figured that, and he explained that his watch has an altimeter, a device that displayed the elevation above sea level. According to his watch, we were standing at the correct elevation where the turnoff for the campground should be. He was so positive and certain of this fact that I had to restrain myself from laughing. You see it was quite clear the side trail we were both seeking was indeed NOT at this location. Since we had not passed it on the way down, that meant that it had to be still further along. I said so. He remained unconvinced and repeated his faith in his altimeter.
I lost interest in the conversation after about 30 seconds. I wished them well and continued down the mountain. Sure enough, about 10 minutes later I came upon my destination. I never did find out what happened to those three hikers. For all I know they are still standing on that trail arguing over the lost campground.
How did they go wrong? They had good maps, were in decent physical shape, and knew their destination. The problem was not in their equipment or their planning. They were hung up by a false belief.
They had placed their trust in a wrist-mounted altimeter. Now this is a wonderful gadget, a marvel of miniaturized electronic technology. It does not matter whether his altimeter was broken, or had not been calibrated properly, or perhaps was simply affected by the change in barometric pressure brought on by the weather front coming in. His belief in what he thought the altimeter was telling him paralyzed him and prevented him from making timely progress toward his real goal.
Your Mental Altimeter
I myself have done the same thing many times, and in all likelihood so have you. Forming beliefs about how the universe behaves is a normal and healthy part of living. Our beliefs are like our mental gadgets that help us navigate the world. What you will find, however, is that some beliefs are more helpful than others. When we are not getting the results we want, we must evaluate our beliefs, and change or discard them if they are holding us back. This, however, is more difficult than it sounds.
My friend seemed to me to be very attached to his altimeter. He honestly had trouble conceiving that it could be wrong. I can imagine why. I’m sure he had invested a great deal of money to buy it, and a fair amount of time to program and calibrate it. When you are that invested in something, you don’t like to give it up and admit that it’s just wrong. When I basically told him he was wrong, it made him a little angry at me. Like so many of us, when reality clashes with dearly held beliefs about ourselves and about the world, we get anxious, stressed out, and tense and even angry. We are always free to hold onto our beliefs, but our unwillingness to change our view of ourselves and the world may cost us. That’s ok, if it’s an informed choice rising out of our will. If on the other hand, we are letting our emotional reactions control our destiny, that may not be the easiest path to your goal. So this is the Altimeter Dilemma. Do I hold onto something I have invested in, even when it is not helping me? Or do I discard my investment, and move my energy and capital in a different direction?
This questions can lead to pretty deep water. We don’t have the space or the time to get into in-depth psychoanalysis. Nevertheless, there may be a few questions you may want to ask yourself to see if you are holding onto false or misleading beliefs about your business, your relationships, your health, or any other part of your life.
- Is this reality?
- What do I want reality to look like?
- What can I do right now to bring reality in line with my vision?
If you answer these questions, and then act on the answers, you will almost certainly find the solution to your own Altimeter Dilemmas.
Is this reality, or just something I (or someone else) is projecting onto reality?
A map is not the terrain. It is a diagram on paper. Maps provide useful information and perspective on the country you are traveling through. Yet even the best maps leave out a lot of what is really going on. Hikers should use maps, but should also look at the actual countryside.
In business, you should keep one eye on your plan (the map) and another on the numbers (the terrain). When the numbers aren’t matching up to your plan, be ready to adjust your plan accordingly. I don’t mean change your goal. I mean that you should change the direction or the level of effort you are exerting to get back on track. What you decide to do will depend on how you answer the next question.
What do I want my reality to look like?
You can’t argue with reality, but you can take steps to shape it. If you believe that you don’t have the money, or the time, or the skill to accomplish a goal (is this reality, or just a projection?) you can take steps to change that. Clarify the reality you want and move toward your destination with purpose. I was much more interested in a hot meal and a good night’s sleep than I was in Louis’ altimeter controversy. So I simply walked on toward my goal.
In a perfect world, if you could have what you wanted, what would it look like? Don’t worry about all the reasons that can’t happen. Clarify what you want most. Then ask the next question.
What can I do right now?
So now you know where you want to be. You now have two choices. Move toward your goal, or do not move toward your goal. I found that simply putting one foot before the other was marvelously effective at eliminating the entire altimeter controversy. Louis and friends were stymied by the question, “Why isn’t camp here?” If they had looked up from the altimeter, decided they wanted to actually get to camp (rather than argue about it) the next step would have been pretty clear. Start walking.
In business, this will mean taking concrete action to solve the challenge in front of you. Rather than argue or fret about the disconnect between your plan and the numbers, decide how to change the way you use your time, or your money. Invest in training others or yourself. Your shareholders, creditors, and landlords really don’t care how you feel about your situation. They just want their check on time and they want it to clear. This only happens when you consistently take appropriate action. Even when you are confused because things aren’t adding up, and the bills are due, and deals are failing, you can take action right now. You will find, in all likelihood, that when you do, you will see your situation improving. And when that happens, it’s amazing how your beliefs adjust to keep up with the new reality you have just created.
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This article is written by David Denis owner of http://www.rocksolidwriting.com
David is a freelance writer for hire offering article writing, sales letters, training manuals, speech writing, seo content, sales writing, blog articles, copywriting service, sales scripts and business name ideas.
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