C. S. Lewis reminds me today that “progress” is a tricky thing.
“We all want progress. But progress means getting nearer to the place where we want to be. And if you have taken a wrong turn, then to go forward does not get you any nearer. If you are on the wrong road, progress means doing an about-turn and walking back to the right road; and in that case the man who turns back soonest is the most progressive man.”
It makes sense that sometimes I have to go backwards to go forward. Having “zigged” when I should have “zagged,” more often than not the solution is not to wing it from where I am but to own up to the mistake, make my way back to the point of the error, and “zag” as I should have done earlier. Or as Lewis puts it: “The sooner I admit this and go back and start again, the faster I shall get on. There is nothing progressive about being pig headed and refusing to admit a mistake.”
That bears repeating: “There is nothing progressive about being pig headed and refusing to admit a mistake.”
It occurs to me... 