The One Bush in a Wide-Open Landing Area

A recent skydiving student landed in a ditch next to the one bush in the middle of a wide-open landing area. He was okay, just a little muddy.

He saw the bush and had plenty of room to steer away. But he kept looking at it and ended up going right toward it. That's target fixation.

I don't think the answer is to pretend the obstacle isn't there. The student needed to see the bush. But seeing it and staring at it are different.

We can do something similar when a project is going sideways. We keep replaying the missed deadline, the customer complaint or the decision we wish we'd made earlier. Those things deserve attention. At some point, though, we need to ask where there's still room to move and what decision comes next.

The question isn't just "What am I trying to avoid?" It's "What am I steering toward now?"