Change the Question - Change the Answer

There was a recent article in the Houston Chronicle regarding how the government is going to require automakers to equip new cars with technology that lets cars warn each other if they are headed toward disaster.  Though it is still may years off, it will be "game changing," as they say. It has the potential to drastically cut collisions, deaths and injuries.  Radio signals would transmit information back and forth about the position of vehicles, where they are headed, how fast they are traveling among other information.   Then the drivers would receive alarms, messages or the car might actually be programmed to react (i.e. automatically brake).  

So where did this come from?  Automotive safety used to focus on how to make sure we survived accidents.  Now, it has changed to how to prevent accidents in the first place.  Change the focus or the question and you change the answers.

Are you stuck making progress in a work or personal area?  What questions are you asking yourself?  Are you getting the same answers?  Try turning the question around.  

Consider a person who is bed ridden from an accident or surgery. You could ask - what kind of things could they do to entertain themselves while they are bedridden? (i.e. read, write, play games, watch tv,...).  If you change the question - how can we get them up and out of the bed and mobile? - the focus changes and the answers and creative ideas flow differently.

Consider a relationship that is struggling. You can ask - how do I get out of this relationship?  Or - what can I do to improve this relationship?  You could apply the same process to your job - how do I get out of this job or how do I make this job more enjoyable or challenging.

Change your focus and your question and you will change the answers and your life.  

Up and Down Lombard Street?

  

Lombard Street in San Francisco is known for the one-way block on Russian Hill, where eight sharp turns are said to make it the crookedest street in the world. The street has been in scenes in many movies and part of a comedy sketch by Bill Cosby where he jokingly remarks that the flowers are planted for those people who killed themselves trying to drive down the crooked street.  

I was so fortunate to be able to spend two weeks in this personal favorite City by the Bay in January. One week was with my family for vacation and the second week was for a conference.  On vacation with the family I rented an SUV one day so that we could visit Twin Peaks, (hills near the center of San Francisco with a complete 360 degree view of the city), the redwoods in Muir Woods and walk the Golden Gate Bridge. Most everything in the city is accessible via walking or public transportation but this would be the most efficient way for us to visit these landmarks in one day.  

At the end of our adventurous day we headed back into the city and toward our hotel.  There was a point where a decision had to be made to go right down a street toward our hotel or head up Lombard street at a very steep grade to only arrive at the top of the crookedest street in the world and drive down the hairpin turns.  My husband is gently advising "no - turn right" and my son is nudging me to head straight up Lombard street.  

I wasn't that comfortable driving the over-sized vehicle in a town where compact cars are the norm and in the past I always felt like my vehicle was going to flip over backwards when driving up steep grades. Maybe it was a bad dream, maybe it was a movie where I saw that happen, but I'm pretty sure there weren't any documented cases of cars flipping over backwards driving up Lombard street.  So, in my head this conversation was going on - talking myself into and out of heading up the hill.  

Up and over won out. 

I headed straight up the hill at the light instead of turning right. Adrenaline was pumping as I still wondered - "would we make it up without tipping over backwards".  

We did.

And we made it down the crooked street slow and steady.  

It was exciting - maybe more so for the kids i the back seats with mom at the wheel.  

Don't let assumptions and negative self talk keep you from going up and over the hill. You  might just be missing out on the time of your life and the opportunity to show your kids you're not a chicken!