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 It uses the metaphor of eyeglasses to illustrate how our perceptions can be shaped by outdated perspectives, and emphasizes the importance of adopting new ways of thinking in order to view the world differently and embrace change.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In a personal development workshop, one might use this quote to encourage participants to challenge their outdated beliefs.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.
If we can sacrifice something comfortable, that we're 'too good at,' that might even be holding us back, we'll have more room to grow into the person we want to be.
The final hour of colonialism has struck, and millions of inhabitants of Africa, Asia and Latin America rise to meet a new life and demand their unrestricted right to self-determination.
Women have had the power of naming stolen from us.
Progress is the victory of a new thought over old superstitions.
Procrastinatio n will delay your change!!! Today is a very good day to change; don't let YOU stop yourself from growing!
Things do not get better by being left alone.
Subscribe for the occasional hand-picked quote. No noise.