Writing on the Wall in Permanent Marker?

1:59:52 – 10.29 miles (deer:8)

In my first office job I learned to see patterns. Many call it an instinct or a sign, but if you watch closely enough, you can see changes as they happen. Some may be subtle and others may be a piece that sets of a chain reaction. For me, I noticed a lot more people in suits coming to the office leading to an increase in closed door meetings.
I approached the COO and said “we getting bought?”
Her response was “who told you?”
“Well, you just did.”
Ask questions you think you already know the answer to in order to gauge a reaction … which can lead to clearer vision of the writing on the wall.

This week I have heard the expression “the writing is on the wall” quite a few times. While I have seen this “wall” many times before. At the same time, I’ve found that the “writing” is not always done in permanent marker. If you look closely, it actually may be in washable marker. That means it may not be done deal and there is opportunity to move in and make a change. Whether it mean finding a new position within the new organization or coming up with a solution someone has not thought of yet.

Then you have to take into account who is writing on the wall. For all you know, it could be my 6 year old daughter telling a story about a fairy in a far away castle. Just because one person says the writing is on the wall, be sure to do some fact checking before hitting the panic button. What may be one person’s writing could end up being just their paranoia and insecurity.

This morning I hit the same trail I did a couple of days ago. I encountered 8 deer and strong cold headwinds at the top of the mountain. About 8 minutes into the run, I thought the writing was on the wall that this run was going to be horrible. More then once I thought about just calling it a day and heading back to the car. I had a feeling that was just the lazy part of my brain talking. Turns out it was. I did the same course 7 minutes faster today even with the wind pushing me back.

The key is to be aware of the situation and notice the little patterns. Just one of those changes doesn’t mean a dramatic impact and sometimes you can push through to find the opportunity.