Friends told us about a metal junk yard about thirty to forty-five minutes from our house. We looked it up on the GPS and started our adventure. As we drove closer and closer to the destination we had the feeling that something was wrong. We twisted and turned and ended up in the middle of a residential street. We reset the GPS and tried again. We ended up in the exact same wrong place.
We drove home and wondered what went wrong. We searched for the business on Irwin street, and nothing fitting that discretion existed. Frustrated and discouraged we seemed to be at a stand still. It never occurred to us that Irwin street could be spelled with an ‘E’. We had the right street name spelled the wrong way. We assumed the spelling and everything else was a disastrous result of that assumption. We were beaten by a vowel!
I visited the junk yard this weekend and remembered our adventure when I saw the street sign. We got lost because none of us asked the right questions or challenged our own assumptions. We spent time driving around and wasted time on a simple one letter mistake. We thought we knew best and acted on that flawed thought. Our enthusiasm and beliefs led us down the wrong path. Foiled by a vowel, how silly is that!?!
So what assumptions are you making because you have not asked the right questions, or any questions for that matter? Maybe you are not asking because you don’t want to appear foolish or begin a conflict. Maybe you think you know so there is no reason to ask. Maybe you don’t even know you have made an assumption, you are simply moving forward and working towards the best result. Taking that brief moment to ask or make a change could make all the difference in your ability to reach your goal. Don’t let a vowel be the element that foils all your hard work and efforts. Be brave enough to ask and admit you were wrong, and be willing to set your predilections aside in order to succeed.
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