Lost and Found

The dog days of summer are behind us and we are heading into the pre-fall weather of the Midwest. If you live in rural Illinois, it is the time of year when the cornfields are at their full height. This time of year makes me think of this story.

Years ago, before Google maps and Siri, I was trying to meet my husband for dinner at a little café in Western Illinois. I got lost trying to meet him. It was the end of July, the corn was soaring, and one cornfield looked like the next. I had wandered on and off so many gravel roads that I couldn’t even call someone and ask directions because I had no idea where I was. Did I mention it was July and about a hundred degrees outside? Not many people were around. Luckily, one crusty old farmer happened to be outside working on some piece of farm equipment. By this time, the sun was starting to go down and I had just minutes of daylight left before it would be pitch-black in those looming cornfields. I stopped and asked him if he knew where the restaurant I was looking for was located. He looked at me, and in a voice only an old farmer could have, said, “Lady, you can’t get there from here.”

I immediately thought, “Liz, you idiot! You’re going to be the only person in history to be permanently lost in a cornfield.”  He must have seen the look of horror on my face because he quickly explained I needed to go back to the black top and to get to my final destination.

Getting from Here to There

I have thought of those words so many times since that night in the cornfield: “Lady, you can’t get there from here.” I think too many of us think that thought about our lives and our jobs. Sometimes living and working in rural healthcare we don’t believe we have all the same opportunities here as they do there. We feel stuck, and lost, and unable to find our way.  

This week, I encourage you to stop comparing apples to oranges and instead think creatively. I came across this interesting technique of creative thinking called The Six Thinking Hats. The theory was created by Edward De Bono and here is the high-level overview.

A New Approach

The "six hats" technique involves looking at a problem from six differing perspectives. By doing this, you can produce more ideas than looking at the situation from one or two points of view. Here’s how it works:

Black hat: Use a negative perspective. Which elements of the solution won’t work?

Blue hat: Think broadly. What is the best overall solution?

Green hat: Think creatively. What are some alternative ideas?

Red hat: Look at the situation emotionally. What do your feelings tell you?

White hat: Look at the situation objectively. What are the facts?

Yellow hat: Use a positive perspective. Which elements of the solution will work?

Next time you think you can’t get there from here, put on your thinking hat and start opening your brain to possibilities. Try not to get lost in any cornfields this week and if you do, I hope you have a crusty old farmer to show you the way. That’s the view from where I sit.