The Hamster Wheel In My Head

Are you normal or are you like me?  

Spending a lot of time, maybe too much time, on the hamster-wheel in my own head. 

I do love to think. About hard problems and how to solve them. About how people behave and why. About how things work – or why they don’t. It’s a hobby that never gets old. 

Then sometimes... light peeks in, and I remember that hermits who only learn from themselves, and by themselves become quite dull and boring.

The mind can become its own echo chamber where an overused and under-maintained hamster wheel starts to screech from lack of lubrication. 

In those brief flashes of insight, I’m motivated - and sometimes even succeed – in breaking the surface tension of my own comfy zone, to reach out to someone new. Interesting that I don’t do this more often since every single time, I am abundantly rewarded – with new things to think about. 😳 

If you’ve seen my recent posts, you know that last week contained several such occasions. From taking in the WSJ Future of Everything Festival in New York City, to spending time learning with and from other writers and thinkers, to long walks or short Uber rides visiting with new friends between hotel and conference venue. 

Prior to the trip, I realized I had a bit of a layover at DFW. Coincidentally a fellow supply chain professional had just connected with me on LinkedIn. I noticed his “places to find me” included DFW. 

So, I queried, and we decided to meet up during my layover. 

Walking through the airport, talking to my wife on the phone, she asked a question about my plan: “So you’re getting in a car with someone you’ve never met, going to some unknown location to have a conversation?”  

I mean when you say it out loud, it does sound kinda odd. 

But, as comfy as I am on the hamster wheel in my own head, in my home office, I suppose my years on the road, as trucker and then in Sales, made me pretty comfortable moving around in unknown spaces with unknown people too. 

My embrace of the unusual paid big, yet again! @Nathan (Supply) Chaney picked me up in his Tesla spaceship, errrr I mean SUV, and we toddled off to the historic downtown section of Grapevine, popped into a super fun place, whose name escapes me, for a croissant and a coffee. 

We talked for an hour and struck up what I expect will be a lifelong friendship. What a refreshing, fulfilling "extra” to an already exceptional week! 

Here’s to expanding the comfy zone and reaping the rewards of same. I recommend it. And I need to do it more often. 

Be kind to yourself and others; enjoy the weekend❣️