April 30 saw me at 53 years on this earth, apparently making me capable of wisdom according to research. I’ll leave it for others to judge how well that capability is being utilised.
Becoming eligible for the COVID vaccine got me thinking. I’ve only just realised that it is well and truly valid for younger folk to think of me as old. I’ve known two generations before me and sadly many have moved beyond this life. I know two generations born after me and am starting to meet the occasional little one from yet another generation (My childhood bestie is now a great, great Aunt….lordy).
I guess that makes me one of the older generations despite only being one year into our personal farming career and six years running a private practice. I love the company of younger people particularly when mentoring in the early career stages. I love developing commercially focussed agri-leaders.
Until now, when it comes to where I sit on the Generation ladder, I’ve been living “in the clouds” and often thinking I’m younger than actual reality.
This realisation is a good example of shifting paddocks in the Thinking Landscape from “in the clouds” to “grounded”.
Your thinking is as variable as your farm landscape. We can look at it as four paddocks:
- Grounded
- Head
- Cloud
- Swamp.
And just like the paddocks on your farm, these vary in their attributes and ability to be productive.
Cloud Paddock
The cloud paddock is a very pleasant paddock on the surface but unrealistic, and the joy is temporary. It has a blindly optimistic view – the sun is always shining, and it’s always going to rain, and the late-season frost didn’t damage my paddock.
In my case, when I am in the clouds, I’m guilty of trying to work (and sometimes socialise) like I’m thirty rather than remembering I’m over fifty with less energy reserves and a few more aches than I had 20 years ago. Then I wonder why I’m exhausted and want to lay on the couch binging on Netflix instead of going to golf and getting some exercise.
The cloud paddock is the home of avoidance and denial. A trip to the cloud is generally powered by fear.
Acceptance is the ticket out of the cloud paddock. By acknowledging that bad things happen, (or that aging is inevitable) it takes you back to the grounded paddock. Acceptance is not unwarranted pessimism (that happens in the swamp), it is realistic optimism. Planning for the worst and hoping for the best, is better than hope without a plan.
Accepting full responsibility for your choices reduces the risk of lingering in the cloud. Once you recognise that your destiny is in your own hands, it becomes the perfect motivation for decisive action.
Good farmers know their real paddocks intimately – where that pesky patch of wild oats lays and which parts are the first to suffer moisture stress when its dry. When it’s wet, they know where not to drive.
Imagine if you knew your Thinking Landscape as thoroughly as you know your farming landscape. There’s the surface knowledge, which is what others see, and the subsurface knowledge which is what you are experiencing and why.
Armed with this knowledge, ask yourself and start to work out:
- why things aren’t going so well?
- why things are going extra well?
- when you need to shift your thinking?
- what type of thinking generates less helpful choices?
- what type of thinking generates more helpful choices?
I’m presenting a workshop on Grounded Thinking hosted by the Greater City of Bendigo and funded by the Department of Health and Human Services on May 25. It’s a free online agriculture course.
Grounded Thinking – a healthy mindset for profitable and enjoyable farming
This workshop tailored specifically for farming families to help them feel more in control of their own destiny, worry less and capture the profit opportunity each farming season presents.
May 25, 2021.
Bookings at https://www.trybooking.com/BOEPV
Read more about making excellent choices in Read more about the Team Landscape for Excellent farming in Crops People Money & You The Art of Excellent Farming (and Better Returns).
https://www.thinkagri.com.au/product/crops-people-money-you/
