The direct route
Hot air balloons are not the most efficient form of transportation, but presumably efficiency was not the intent here. (Image by samuriah)
When you look up something on Google Maps like a coffee shop or a gas station, the app will helpfully indicate how far away these local places are.
However, when you click on the listing, you realize that the actual travel distance is significantly greater. That’s because the app first gives you the distance “as the crow flies,” and you’re not a crow.
We get used to taking the long way to get places because we can’t fly and we don’t want to tromp through people’s backyards or ford rivers and streams to get to Starbucks. In fact, we accept that going somewhere really far away might require sitting in an airport for hours with no apparent progress toward our destination.
We are habituated to the rigmarole that comes along with many things we’d like to do. Certain jobs require a four or even six-year detour through the wilds of higher education. Buying a house, especially if you are going to carry a mortgage, means making your way through a thicket of paperwork. With so many complexities in life, we don’t always realize that we could simplify our situation and take a more direct route to get where we want to go.
I’m planning a trip to Mexico City for a few months from now. Now, Mexico City is one of the only places I’ve been where I cannot get by with English—Spanish must be spoken. I would like to improve my ability to speak and understand Spanish. I could buy some books, take a course, or use an app to learn, but the direct route here to my desired outcome would be to spend time in conversation, in Spanish, ideally with a native speaker. It is the scariest option, but it’s also the best.
In music, there are all kinds of things people do to learn. They practice scales, they study theory and notation, they delve into music history. But if you want to be able to play the guitar and sing your favorite songs at parties, you would do well to start there. You don’t need to learn to read music and you don’t need to learn perfect classical technique. You just start strumming the few chords you’re going to need. As soon as you can, start bringing your guitar to parties so that you can play along with your friends. It’s the scariest option, but it’s also the best. It’s the direct route to where you want to go.
Not everything can be simple and direct. You can’t just show up in the operating room with a scalpel if you want to be a surgeon. But there is often a shortcut to reaching our goals if we look at our options differently, especially if we’re willing to consider being a bit uncomfortable or doing something unconventional.
As many couples learned last year, you don’t need to wait for a big fancy wedding to start your married life. Meanwhile, you can start a podcast or YouTube channel with no more equipment than an iPhone. You don’t need a big social media following to have a successful business, and you can decide to go to the prom with a friend who doesn’t require a lavish “promposal” built around bad puns.
You can find a way to do what you want with less hassle and bureaucracy. You can strip away the thoroughness and “what if…” thinking that leads so many of us to overpack for trips, clutter our closets, and be overly cautious in our daily lives. Instead of ensuring that you are prepared for every possible contingency, you can figure out what you need now and seek only that, streamlining your present and future.
It’s just fine to meander and move slowly if that’s what you want to do. But if you’re looking for big results in a short time or you want to make a big change, you might consider seeking a direct route to reach your goal. You might find that you achieve what you want more quickly and easily. In the process, you’ll strengthen your problem-solving skills and your self-confidence, gaining some indirect benefits along the way.
