Howdy Peeps!
As you may or may not know, I’m in a new area so it’s an unfamiliar city, unfamiliar surroundings, many stores I don't recognize, the whole 9 yards as they say.
I’ve been using the GPS on my phone, which works great. It has a few minor drawbacks which I find along the way.
- Using the phone and the map at the same time have limitations
- Sometimes it says ‘no data found’ and gives me nothing
- Occasionally it takes me to the opposite end of town from where my destination is
But for the most part, it has been wonderful.
What I am finding though, is being in an unfamiliar city and watching the GPS as I’m maneuvering through the streets, I don’t notice as many landmarks. Yes, I'm watching the road, but I know I’ve been back and forth, passing along some of the same places several times throughout the last few days and sometimes even going in circles because of all the different locations I’ve been going. I have my nose glued to the GPS.
Today I decided to do my navigation the old fashioned way. Before I left this morning I plotted my course. Now, I did use Google Maps on my Mac, but I got the big picture of where I was going. And of course as a backup I already had the address programmed into my phone :), I just wasn’t planning on using it until I got to the last few turns.
Then, I pulled out a piece of paper and jotted down the roads – yes, some of you are gasping that I used pen and paper. I wrote down the streets and about how far on each – just like we used to do before GPS and Google Maps and phones with maps!
Today was the 2nd time I took the same route and parts of the route I’ve been on several times, so I should be getting pretty familiar with some of the areas – right?
Well, what I discovered is I was able to look and pay attention to the landmarks along the way. Some of you may not know this, but women (in general) like landmarks. Men (in general) like to know how many miles before the next turn, etc. So today I pulled my nose out of the GPS and had it firmly planted in the direction I was going. I had the big picture from this morning and the steps written down on a piece of paper.
How many times do we go through life with our nose so stuck in something that we don’t notice what is going on around us?
Today, get the big picture of where you’re going, plant your nose in front of you and notice what is around you as you go about your day. You may notice some new landmarks along your journey.
Angel Blessings to you.
Sue
www.empowerment4you.com
