Have you ever had to mow the lawn? If so then you’re probably familiar with getting into the pattern of glancing just head of the front left or right tire and keeping it within a tolerance that ensures you can cut the most amount of grass possible. You’ll often only need to break this subconscious practise when obstacles come up such as trees, landscaping, or a perhaps a particularly tricky turn.

At first glance if you’ve ever had to combine corn in the field, it feels like it’s roughly the same activity. However, if you try this tactic you’ll quickly find you’re in for a world of hurt. The trick to operating a combine is to keep an eye on where you’re going and glancing at how the corn is being brought in as you go. If you focus too much on the current corn being brought in you’ll get too wrapped up in the each set and quickly drown in a series of micro corrections.

This applies to so many things in life. It feels natural to want to focus on what’s immediately coming up and loose focus of the planned out row ahead of you. I find myself doing this with so many things in my life and being back on the farm has helped bring it to my attention. Don’t get hung up on the immediate success or failure of what’s going on, but rather use it as a guide to drive what you’re striving for as an indicator of the overall goal.