Situation: Your steadfast focus on specific goals leads to missed opportunities

Setting goals and tracking towards achieving those goals is the backbone of continued improvement and higher satisfaction with one’s performance. However, the same mental mechanisms that inspire us to persist in fulfilling our aspirations might also become stringent ways of operating that inhibit our view of opportunities and possibilities — particularly when times get tough.

For example, consider the tale of the buggy-whip manufacturer who was so intent on making the best buggy whips that he was blind to the fact that the transportation industry was evolving, and would no longer need his product. His narrow, inflexible focus ended up hindering both his own and his company's growth and evolution.

The key — in personal and professional development — is to maintain a level of flexibility that is fueled by your vision and that accommodates the inevitable changes, ideas and issues that arise.

Tip: Take a cue from a bamboo tree

As in the case of the bamboo tree, flexibility can be a real asset or favorable attribute amidst nonstop change or turmoil. With both bamboo and human nature, flexibility allows one to weather storms and maintain the middle road while exploring all options, and remain firmly rooted in what’s most important.

The next time you find yourself rigid in your stance (unable to consider other options) or feeling pulled by the undertow of change, envision a grove of bamboo. Then, refresh your thinking by:

1. Reconnecting with your vision, whether by reading, saying or picturing it. These are the bamboo roots that will hold you in place regardless of your final decision.

2. Thinking of at least three opportunities or reasons for "swaying" to one side than the other with regards to the issue that you are facing: "What solutions aren’t I considering?" This is your chance to let the wind blow you in new directions that might ultimately strengthen your roots, and give you the resources you need to weather a difficult period.

3. Take note of the possibilities that you thought of, and how those might help you achieve your goal. Ask, "How can I put them into action?"

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