Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.
Kenichi OhmaeRead
It is hard to let old beliefs go. They are familiar. We are comfortable with them and have spent years building systems and developing habits that depend on them. Like a man who has worn eyeglasses so long that he forgets he has them on, we forget that the world looks to us the way it does because we have become used to seeing it that way through a particular set of lenses. Today, however, we need new lenses. And we need to throw the old ones away.
Interpretation
Letting go of old beliefs is challenging but necessary for growth and change.
The quote highlights the difficulty of abandoning long-held beliefs and the comfort that comes with familiarity. It uses the metaphor of eyeglasses to illustrate how our perceptions can be shaped by outdated perspectives, and emphasizes the importance of adopting new ways of thinking in order to view the world differently and embrace change.
In practice
In a personal development workshop, one might use this quote to encourage participants to challenge their outdated beliefs.
Rowing harder doesn't help if the boat is headed in the wrong direction.
What business strategy is all about-what distinguishes it from all other kinds of business planning-is, in a word, competitive advantage. Without competitors there would be no need for strategy, for the sole purpose of strategic planning is to enable the company to gain, as efficiently as possible, a sustainable edge over its competitors.
Too many African countries have already hit rock-bottom - ungoverned, poverty-stricken, and lagging further and further behind the rest of the world each day; there is nowhere further to go down.
I believe the twenty-first century can become the most important century of human history. I think a new reality is emerging. Whether this view is realistic or not, there is no harm in making an effort.
If every woman who's had an abortion took tomorrow off in protest, America would grind to a halt. And that would be symbolic: because women grind to a halt if they are not in control of their fertility.
The snake which cannot cast its skin has to die. As well the minds which are prevented from changing their opinions; they cease to be mind.
When we struggle to change ourselves we, in fact, only continue the patterns of self-judgement and aggression. We keep the war against ourselves alive.
In too many communities, too many young men of color are left behind and seen only as objects of fear. Through initiatives like My Brother's Keeper, I'm personally committed to changing both perception and reality.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.