HOWE Q. WALLACE BLOG

WHAT ASSUMPTIONS IN YOUR LIFE REMAIN UNTESTED?

I have a place I drive to visit routinely.

I go there two to three times a week.  Maybe 10 years or so.

The first time I went I was given directions.  I’ve followed that path ever since.

Today I tried a different way.  It was three tenths of a mile shorter.  Straighter path.  Fewer curves.  Quicker way.

I feel a little silly telling the story.

I calculate I’ve driven about 1,000 miles farther and spent almost 30 hours behind the wheel more than I needed to if I had discovered the better, faster way sooner.

Made a lot of assumptions:

  1. Assumed the person teaching me knew the best way.
  2. Assumed I had in my possession the best knowledge.
  3. Assumed there was nothing to gain through experimentation.

Those assumptions caused me to waste time.  Waste motion.  Waste material.

What assumptions in your life remain untested?

Where are you wasting time, motion and material because of your assumptions?

What routines do you have that you can put to the test?