for those times when pushing forward is tripping you up….

Not long ago I was maneuvering in my car. I was trying to save time, so instead of driving the few hundred meters to the turn-around point I was doing a 3-point turn in a narrow spot with very little wiggle room.

I craned my neck, went super super slowly, never fully released the clutch and only ever tapped the accelerator gently to stay in the narrow confines of the space delimited by a ledge on one side and a tall rock wall on the other.  I highly doubt I saved any time…

And, I thought I had done it and was now free of the obstructions….I found I could not move forward. There was something out of view under my wheel which had me stuck. I kept trying to use the power of the engine to propel me over the root blocking my wheel. And instead I would kept finding myself back where I started.

Frustrated and now definitely late, I decided to back up, go in the opposite direction to the one I wanted to go. Needless to say that step back meant that when I moved forward again it was super easy to glide around the obstacle and be on my way.

It may seem counter-intuitive, it may even be frustrating, and yet even the best chess players know that sometimes moving your pieces “backwards” is what is needed.

Success, we are led to believe is a straight line. Talking for myself, but that image of success being linear creates an unwillingness to take a step back, like it is an admission of defeat. But, when I am strong enough to take a step back it proves time and time again to be what creates the space that allows me to move forward more freely.

There are times in life, when continuing to push towards our desired destination is fruitless and an un-necessary use of our energy. Whether it is for the purposes of moving our car, our body, our kids or a project in a particular direction be willing to take that step back, it may even be what gives you perspective to reassess if there is an even better route or destination.