Image source: Paul K, Creative Commons
Once again, my favorite blogger Shane Parrish at Farnam Street Blog exposed a wonderful little piece.
He talks about E.B. White, the author of the above books, writing to someone who had lost faith in humanity.
In White’s letter, he says, “Hope is the thing that is left to us. In a bad time I shall get up Sunday morning and wind the clock as a contribution to order and steadfastness.” Now my mind tends to go to something deeper (or higher) on Sunday morning than a clock, but his point is a good one. Keep on keeping on. We have hope for the future.
One observation I’ve had of myself and every team I’ve worked with through the years is that for whatever reason the human mind tends to project in straight lines. When things are going bad we can only imagine them getting worse. When things are going good, we seem to think the good times will just keep rolling.
Maybe this is why it bothers me that people don’t seem to know history as much anymore. It doesn’t take much historical examination of our personal lives, our companies track, the fate of nations to realize that life runs in cycles, not straight lines. Part of the reason for knowing this is hope and preparedness. Hope that the bad times will be followed by good and we must be prepared for the down turns that eventually come.
E.B. White ends his letter with “Hang on to your hat. Hang on to your hope. And wind the clock, for tomorrow is another day.”
Keep adjusting your vision and keep working toward it.