Anyone who knows me well will tell you that I am not good at following directions. Actually, I can’t get from A to B even with a map and a GPS, TomTom or whatever other instructional, direction providing device there is out there. I always get lost. I could get lost driving home from the office if I happened to get into a panic on the way. Anxiety overwhelms all landmarks and familiar roads and sights on my route.
Maybe my inability to follow directions has something to do with my obstreperous personality. I was not good at following directions at school and I am not particularly good at following directions in my job either. I like to think backwards instead of forwards and so I come up with the solution and then work backwards to determine the mechanics of a transaction. It makes perfect sense to me. I want to get here and then, how can I get there? I nearly always works I am pleased to say and I think there is quite a lot to recommend my slightly unusual approach in corporate finance. Thinking out of the box is what we are told to do.
When I bake and make fondant creations, I usually don’t follow the recipe or instructions that closely either. After all, I want my own version, don’t I? Luckily for me, 99% of the time my attempts work out. The birds get the 1% disaster.
How good are you at following directions?
This post was written for Linda G Hill’s weekly Stream of Consciousness Saturday challenge. You can join in here: https://lindaghill.com/2020/05/01/the-friday-reminder-and-prompt-for-socs-may-2-2020/
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That just means you’re an independent thinker! I can follow directions, but it depends on who or what is giving them. 🙂
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Yes, that is true, the giver of the instructions is important. I never follow directions when it comes to work, I am a creator.
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I find it reasonably easy to get around in the UK. There are maps everywhere and everything is in English. I can get on a train or a tube but driving around is something else entirely.
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I think it is best to do what works for you, Diana. I think a poor sense of direction is fairly common, especially in women. My dad says it’s because we are not observant. I say its because we are always distracted by kids and other things.
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My sense of direction was great when I lived on the US east coast. Since I moved to the west coast, I can’t find my way out of a paper bag. I think it’s because the ocean is on the wrong side now. 🙂
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I always had to get lost first… then I could retrace my mistake. Before GPS I always had a map in the car… but being directionally challenged I’d end up turning the wrong way before returning to the right way. 😉 I’ve gotten better with my local area even with all the changes in the last 10, 7, 5 years. As we’ve been here around 30.
I used to take one route – didn’t matter if it was longer, because it was the way I knew how to get where I wanted to go. I think though that solving problems backwards isn’t new. And it is good to look at several alternatives. If you can get the end result to where you want it to be does the process matter? 😀
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Great post Robbie 💜
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If the direction resonates or is from my employer then I conform … if it doesn’t resonate I question and this is seldom appreciated. Interesting post, thanks for making me think!
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My pleasure, Kate. Thanks for visiting. I can’t picture roads and how to get to places in my head at all. It is a great failing of mine.
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Robbie you have so many talents and are so super organised I’m glad there is something you need help with 🙂
You are human after all ❤
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