Headlights only see what is in front of you

by Jennifer Spear | Goals, Uncertainty

“Writing is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.” E.L. Doctorow

This quote was shared with me by the amazing Lisa Schmidt; my writing muse, coach and accidental mentor.

I immediately could visualize being behind the wheel on an unfamiliar 2-lane highway heading to a destination that I had never been to before. The bright white lights piercing the pitch blackness of the night. As the road curves the headlights sweep across revealing a little of what is parallel to the road.

The headlights will illuminate the entire journey however, they only shine on what I point them at.

I think this analogy can be stretched to fit whatever it is we are working on. The headlights only shine where you direct them to. If you flick on your high-beams now you are able to see a little of the context that surrounds your journey but if you only focus narrowly on the path directly in front of you, what might you be missing on the fringe…?

When we are so narrowly focused, like a laser beam of light, we will see IT clearly however it will be in the absence of anything new, unexpected or delightful. With intense singular focus, are we precluding the possibilities of new discoveries, ideas or collaborations?

However, when you make the same journey in the daylight there is a different feel. Nothing in particular is focused on, nothing has a light intensely cutting knife-like through it. Everything seems to be part of a picture and nothing in particular stands out unless you choose to focus on it.

Most of us travel knowing we can make the whole trip with our headlights, even if one of them is burnt out.

 

“Writing Planning is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

“Writing Planning  Working is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

“Writing Planning  working Living is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”

“Writing  insert activity here  is like driving a car at night. You can only see as far as your headlights, but you can make the whole trip that way.”