Driving a car demands us to pay attention to many things at the same time. How fast are we going? What street or road are we on? Will it take us to our desired final destination? When do we need to turn? Will the light stay green? Do we have enough gas to get there? Am I staying in my lane? Is it ok to change lanes? Where are the cars around me? Will the person cross the street before I get there or do I need to slow down?
As you see, there are many things that demand our attention when driving a car. Even though, when we drive, it seems so effortless and routine. We never sense the many things we pay attention to in real-time. It’s exactly because we have learned to pay attention to so many things when driving, we become good at it. Not by thinking about it or reading about it.
Immersion is always the best teacher. Jumping in and then figuring things out. It usually is the more difficult choice. Filled with delays, dead ends, and uncertain outcomes. Where trial and error create experiences to learn from and reveal new directions to take. Helping to create perspective and independent thinking around things you are “in the middle of”. There is an intensity felt throughout your being when you are immersed, curious, and determined to persevere.
Sadly, modern life pulls us in the opposite direction. Search is quick on the internet giving us instant answers. Social media gives us pictures that both make us jealous of what others are doing and creates unrealistic expectations of what’s possible with only a swipe on a phone.
Where the real danger comes in this opposite direction, is when we comment on things we know little about. Insisting that we are right or that our way seems appropriate. The less we have experienced something, the less we are exposed to the many things that should be considered. Making our thinking more imprecise and potentially inaccurate. (Something that is hard for us to understand.)
To know more about cooking you should ask a cook and then go into the kitchen to do it yourself. People have hundreds of ideas as to how to lose weight and share them freely. But few have faced the daily struggle of discipline needed to do it. To find out the real issues at work, you need to be close to the work. Not in an office far away.
First-hand experience is where true knowledge is bonded to perspective and common sense. Where things never considered become apparent. Tempering our expectations while giving us clues as to where to go next to move forward. Easy to do, like driving, once we understand that nothing can be acquired or achieved quickly with just a quick search or swipe.
Helping us see that much of life is multi-dimensional. Teaching us to moderate our views (for there is always more to be considered than we think) while searching for more information to continually find a better path forward.