Things you cannot see...

Yesterday I was driving home late at night from a meeting in an area that I have never been to before.

The street was very dark, the only illumination in front of me were my two headlights. I was told to keep following the winding road in front of me until I found a street sign guiding me to the freeway entry ramp.

After 20 minutes of driving in the dark without any sign of the freeway ramp, I began to doubt the way I am going. Maybe I missed the street sign? Maybe the instruction was flawed?

Have you ever been in that kind of situation? Perhaps in your case, you were not trying to find a freeway ramp. Perhaps it was your current career or business that you do. You faced a big obstacle, or maybe you felt that you have missed the real opportunity because you have been doing what you were doing for quite some time with no significant breakthrough. You felt that you were heading nowhere.

What did you end up doing?

I could stop and ask people along the street I was on. But it was late at night, and there was noone around. Even if there was someone, I would think twice to stop and ask the guy, since I have the instinct of not trusting anyone who lingers until late through the night.

I could turn around and go back to the place I came from, double check with the guy who gave me the instruction. Or I could make a phone call to someone who might know the area.

That was what I ended up doing. Twice. I needed a confirmation two times that I am still on the right path. And 'lo and behold, right after I hung up my second phone call, I saw the sign to the freeway ramp.

That experience made me wonders: We (I) often think that what you cannot see does not exist. Apparently, I was wrong. The entry ramp did exist. I was just not able to find it or know that it exist before I saw it. And I do not have enough faith to stay on course.

In Creative Problem Solving Skills, I wrote about the importance of opening our minds to things we never know before, we do not even know possible in order to have the skill to solve problems creatively. I suppose this activity requires personal faith and vision. It also requires trust of other people who try to tell us "it is possible. Let me show you how."

What did you end up doing, in your situation?

Did you consistently and persistently march forward and put massive faith and vision towards what you do? Was it successful? Have you tried trusting other people who provided you some sort of navigational advices along the way? Was it worthwhile?

In my case, it was proven worthwhile. Just a thought. Sometimes, things you cannot see do exist. They are as real, even more real, than things you can see.