My furnace is old. Way old. And every once in a while it reminds me of its age. I know people like that. For several months it has been touchy. I had someone out in November and it seemed to fix the problem, but around Christmas, it got cold, then in the beginning of January it got hot, and two weeks ago it got very cold.
The guy came out again and installed a new thermostat. That is what I thought the problem was, with all my HVAC experience. I asked the guy what happened if this didn’t work, and he said he was out of ideas. About 5 minutes after he left it got really really cold. I gave it a few days to see if there was maybe a delay in the benefits of his work. By Friday I was cold and cranky, so I asked for another service call. No reply.
Saturday I called another company, and they came, and they found the problem and they fixed the problem, and by evening I was in a warm house again. The difference in my mood and ability to get things done was significant, and I prayed for people who are cold for whatever reason, I don’t usually think about things like that until I have to, and I am going to try to be better about remembering people who are suffering.
But what I have been wondering about is why the first guy didn’t find the problem after two tries, and the new guy found it in 10 minutes. I asked my hero what he thought about that, and he said people see different things when they look at a problem. It depends on their experience but also their mood and the day they are having. He was actually pretty nice about it.
I wonder how many problems that I do not solve because I am stuck in my way of looking at things. How often do I try to get a new perspective, have a new experience? How open am I really to learning and growing and getting better? The isolation and anxiety of a pandemic don’t help. But I am committed to thinking more broadly, more openly and intentionally about the problems that need to be solved.
Perspective is everything.