I had the pleasure this past week to leave town and visit family.

While I enjoyed: hanging out with relatives, good food, and exchanging fun stories, another blessing crossed my mind; it is a wonderful gift to change your location, routine and perspective.

The nine hours in the car wasn’t easy, but my wife and I really got to spend some time with one another. Physical discomfort of sitting for so long aside, there is a genuine importance to switching up your routine and literally getting away from the perspective from which you see the world the majority of the time.

As hard as I try to bring variety and a fresh perspective to my work and my family life, I fall into a routine. I see the same things. I do the same things. I talk about the same things. Most significantly, I observed, my approach to life becomes a bit routine.

Just being on the road allowed me to count my blessings and change my perspective as we encountered people who were: homeless, in distress, in trouble, sour to the world, and challenged in many unique ways. Our family has our own challenges too, but what we saw was a reality of life that we are typically spared from during our work and school week routines. We don’t encounter these harsher realities, or when we do it’s on the news and a bit distant. (Don’t even get me started on how our social media consumption literally and figuratively filters the world into a false ‘magical place of beauty and perfection.’)

We all need a change in perspective a little more frequently.

My biggest takeaway: The problems I thought were problems are not really problems.

I had more fun than I deserved with some amazing family, but I am also thankful for the needed change in perspective our travels highlighted.

Routines begin to narrow our focus ever so gradually until we have a pretty fixed mindset.

Every time we leave town our problems shrink because our perspective grows.

I challenge organizations to encourage visits to conferences and other organizations, even ones outside of their line of work, and to bring outsiders with powerful stories and uniques perspective into your organization. We need to share ideas and takeaways. We must consistently work to expand our perspective.

~Kelly

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Educator, Author, Keynote Speaker
Twitter: @kellycroy
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Website: kellycroy.com and wirededucator.com
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I’ve written two books, Along Came a Leader a book on personal and professional leadership, and Unthink Before Bed: A Children’s Book on Mindfulness .

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