Last week, while playing a round of golf, I found myself in the middle of a cluster of trees, not an unusual place for me.
I spotted a small opening through the branches and between the tree trunks and could see the green on the other side. The smart shot was obvious: hit the ball sideways, back toward the fairway, and give myself a clear opportunity on the next shot. But the green was right there; I could see it! That was apparently all the encouragement my ego needed.
I aimed through the opening, hit the ball, and watched it bounce off several trees like a pinball before landing in an even worse position than before. ☹️ Whoever said a straight line is the shortest distance between two points clearly did not play golf!
The experience reminded me that the most direct route and the fastest route are not always the same.
When we see the destination, moving away from it, even temporarily, feels wrong. We want every action to point visibly toward the goal. A step sideways can feel like wasted motion and a step backwards, failure. So we convince ourselves the quickest way to get where we want to go is to move directly toward it, regardless of what may be standing in the way.
But sometimes the obstacle in front of us cannot be overcome by charging directly at it. A business may need to slow down long enough to strengthen its foundation before pursuing more growth. Repairing a relationship may require a step back to rebuild. We may even need to walk away from something that looks like progress because it would ultimately take us further from where we actually want to go.
Those choices rarely feel efficient in the moment. They require patience and, perhaps more importantly, humility. Going sideways can feel as though we are giving up ground, especially when other people seem to be moving straight ahead. However, the irony is that our insistence on moving directly toward the goal can sometimes move us further away. We spend more time recovering from rushed decisions, forced solutions, and unnecessary risks than we would have spent taking the less exciting route in the first place.
Progress isn’t always measured by how directly we move toward something. Sometimes it is measured by how well we positioned ourselves for the next decision.
The shortest path may be a straight line. But when there are trees in the way, the fastest way forward might be sideways.
“Short cuts make long delays.” – J.R.R. Tolkien
Have a great weekend.
-Vijay