Today I passed a quirky old-fashioned fun park, buried deep in the redwoods – Confusion Hill.
But for me, today was remarkably unconfusing. (Or de-confusing?)
It’s easy, in the general flurry of activity, for me to lose sight of what matters. As I drove today I was listening to a recording of The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, which was reminding me of some home truths.
Confusion Hill made me think of what he says about paradigm shifts – looking at the world in a different way. It was a paradigm shift that got me out of my old life as a management consultant and into this new life as an ocean rower.
Now I could do with another paradigm shift to take me on to the next level. But I’m not quite sure how you can deliberately provoke one. I seem to recall that last time it was quite a confused and stressful time that finally created the shift. As somebody said, no phoenix can arise from no ashes. You often hear of people who make dramatic personal progress as a result of a health scare, or the loss of a loved one, or a miraculous escape from death.
But is it really necessary to burn the old to bring in the new? Does it have to be that traumatic or can it be more incremental?