Have you ever noticed that your car windshield is bigger that your rearview mirrors? I was talking to a friend recently about this and he said “Windshields are bigger because we need to spend more time looking to the future than the past”. How true!!! And not only that. We also need to make sure our windshields are clean and free of clutter, so we have the best view possible when we are going forward. Notice in the picture that there no papers, maps or other things on the dash board that would cause reflections on the windshield or are there items hanging on the center rear view mirror. Both which can result in creating a distracting view of where we need to go in the future. All good tips for our hiking, personal, and work life.
In Hiking, my rearview mirrors are the missed hikes I didn’t go on with others. Some time ago I had the opportunity to go to Blodgett peak via the Air Force Academy route with Brian Christiansen, which included a stop at a C-47 crash site. But no, I “had” to replace the radiator on my van that day. Thinking there will be another time to take that hike -not yet anyway. Instead of looking back, I need to look forward to new hikes I can do with others. And then there is the dashboard reflection clutter. My view into the future can get distracted when I start paying too much attention to the hikes that “everyone” is posting on Facebook and I try to be like them; instead of looking into the distance for the hikes I’m called to be on.
In my Personal life, I tend to get stuck looking in my rearview mirror at the mistakes I made raising my kids. If only I would have gotten my boys involved with Boy Scouts and been a troop leader. Or if I had bought ATVs and spent weekends doing that with all my kids. Would I have had a better-connected relationship with them now? Instead, I need to look forward and identify things I can be doing with them now. Those small things that can build relationships. And then there is the clutter distorting the future we need to focus on. One of my clutter areas is the time I spend on Facebook, watching news, and checking my email. How many hours a week do I lose by focusing on these distracting things?
At work, it’s easy to look back as I’m now in the process of my third job search in 4+ years and I wonder if only I would have done “X, Y, and Z”; I might still be working at one of my previous places of employment. At work, we need to focus on that big windshield in front of us and see all the possibilities that a wait us. And watch out for those distractions can clutter our view. Am I growing my skill set that help position me for my next advancement or am I just coasting along?
Just like speeding cars getting bigger in our rearview mirrors, there are sometimes past issues that will cause us to pull over on the side of the road in life, get out and deal with them. But once we stop, just don’t put a brandade on the issue. Get to the core, resolve it, and start moving forward again; keeping your eyes on all there is in the future to take hold of. So, what are you waiting for? Jump into the driver’s seat, grab your partner, focus on what lays ahead and get ready to drive to those mountain tops waiting to be conquered.
Al Andersen 