As we progress through life, a sale, a relationship we move forward by opening doors and looking for ways to progress. “Bee-line” is an overly used term and even more often misused or misunderstood. This term suggests the straightest, fastest, easiest path to a win or desired outcome is a straight line. The bee’s path is far from straight.

Does the bee “choose” to go 100+ directions and what appears to be without pattern, or is it out of necessity. This true path could very well be the result of overcoming obstacles, predators, challenges, or even simply distractions.

Despite what appears to be a haphazard flight pattern the bee still gets the job done.

Always and Never. Definitive word choices and definitive closed door actions make each of us like the pine tree in the storm where our inability to be flexible causes us to break and ultimately miss the target.

My wife and I have been residents of Florida these last five years and live right on the beach. Having successfully survived, without harm, the last few significant hurricanes we feel quite fortunate. Our home is surrounded by palm trees and other beautiful and more importantly flexible foliage.

Despite some massive storms the flexibility of our trees allowed them to survive and remain unharmed throughout each of the storms.

The point I hope to make is that inflexibility in our personal life, work life, and our day to day decisions, sets us all up for failure. When we are 100% NOT doing something we have ultimately closed the door to other options and opportunities to pivot. Flexibility is not weakness; it’s the path, it’s strength.

Just before publishing this I was doing some final edits sitting on our side patio while watching thousands of runners run past my home during the Donna Marathon here in Atlantic Beach. Varying fitness levels attempting to complete 26.2 miles; no easy feat. Pretty sure there were several internal negotiations inside the minds of each runner and updates were being made to what original plans were but I’ll assume most every one got to the same finish line.

QUOTE:

“The hard and the rigid will break. The soft and the flexible will remain”

– Tao Te Ching

QUESTION

What were you recently 100% non-negotiable about that you wish you weren’t? What door did you close? Should you consider re-opening it?

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