Stay in Your Lane
I went shopping with my mom last week. She offered to be the driver. She picked me up and we headed out on our adventure. We were in the middle of a conversation when her car made a loud beep beep beep sound. I checked to be sure our seatbelts were on. They were. Again, beep beep beep. That’s when Mom explained that her new Subaru is equipped with an alarm to notify the driver anytime they cross over a line in the road.
As Mom took the next curve, her tires veered slightly over the line on my side, only for a second, and again was the noise to remind her: Stay in your lane.
We drove 45 minutes to the shopping plaza. Throughout our journey, her car periodically had to remind her to get back in the center of her lane. I found it to be a helpful, albeit annoying, safety feature.
Later in the week I was at the office working. I logged into a spreadsheet that tracks all of the work our team is engaged in. It’s very detail-oriented, and everyone on the team contributes to it so they all know what’s happening with each of our clients’ plans. It’s not something I typically utilize. I try to stay focused on the big picture, and the spreadsheet is more for the team to manage the details of the workflow. As I scrolled through the very complex sheet, I started rethinking ways to format the data, change the font, switch up the colors, simplify it… that’s when I swear I could hear that beeping noise from my mom’s car: Stay in your lane, Amy. I realized I was venturing into territory that was not mine—the spreadsheet that was not part of my job responsibility, and certainly something I had no business interfering in, changing or switching up. I immediately exited the document, did not save any of my changes, and returned to the work I was supposed to be doing.
Later that afternoon, I needed a little break from my computer screen and took a walk around the office. I thought, “I might as well water the plants.” This is not something I normally do, but thought I’d be helpful. I located the watering can and started with the large plant in our lobby. I completely over-saturated it, also flooded the dish it was sitting in, and needed many paper towels to clean up my mess. While sopping up the water flowing across the entire coffee table, I was instantly reminded that I’m not the person in charge of the plants. Beep beep beep. There I was, drifting out of my lane again.
Safety features on cars are designed specifically to keep the driver safe. Too bad we as humans don’t come equipped with those warnings as well.
Wouldn’t it be great if we came equipped with a little sensor that reminded us periodically to stay in our lane? How often do we take things on that are not our business? Do you find yourself straying into other people’s areas with good intention— probably even meaning to help them —but then realize that staying in your own lane is the better, safer place?
Sometimes we drift out of our lane in an effort to contribute or to be useful. But there are other times when we may take on a task just to prove we can. Like my friend who decided to mow the lawn “to be helpful” when her husband was working late— only to get the tractor completely stuck in mud. Instead of being helpful, she ended up needing help to get towed out of the mud she buried the tractor wheels in. Mowing the lawn just wasn’t her lane.
Next time you’re thinking of taking something on that’s not really your job, your responsibility, or even your business, think of my mom’s car: Beep, beep, beep. And trust that staying in your lane is likely a safer, less disruptive place to remain.
This Week’s Resources
Owl Labs will Change Your Virtual Team Experience
So many of us are inundated with remote meetings. With people returning to work, many are gathering into conference rooms and tuning into meetings as a group. The problem is that the sound quality is often lousy, the camera is across the room from the participants, and you can’t really see faces as people are talking. Check out Owl Pro, a new technology that will instantly upgrade your conference room virtual meetings. Owl offers a 360 degree camera, a microphone and speaker. It creates the experience of in-person participation for hybrid teams: https://owllabs.com/
Yacht Rock Radio
How do I know the summer season is officially here? Yacht Rock Radio is back on Sirius XM! If you are a fan of cheesy music from the ‘70’s, you will love Yacht Rock. Yesterday I sang along with Steely Dan, Ambrosia, America, Toto and Hall & Oates. If you have a SiriusXM subscription, tune in to Channel 311.
Cryonics: For the people who don’t want a fulfilling life to end
I recently learned about Alcor, a “cryonics” company in Scottsdale, Arizona. According to their website, “Cryonics is the practice of preserving life by pausing the dying process using subfreezing temperatures.” Basically, you can pay monthly dues to be part of their organization, and if/when you die, you can be biologically/scientifically frozen, stored in a secure, long-term cryogenic tube until your eventual revival. It’s fascinating, controversial, and growing in popularity. Read more here: https://www.alcor.org/
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