I don’t know if you’ve noticed it, but Western culture sure loves efficiency.
In the time-is-money paradigm we find ourselves in, getting from Point A to Point B should always be the quickest, cheapest, and (supposedly) best route possible. After all, our time and resources are limited, so anything deviating from that…just doesn’t make sense.
But in recent years, this need for speed has gone into overdrive.
Pushing ourselves harder and faster, our egos absorb this efficiency, and our productivity becomes our identity. Although the internet declared hustle culture dead at the pandemic’s start, we still humblebrag on social media about getting there first, winning that contest, or losing that weight. The likes, comments, and virtual adoration keep us in the positive feedback loop of bigger, better, faster, more.
The fallout of this?
We begin to think that those who are on a less linear path are, well, aimless. Purposeless. Lost.
We judge silently. And we judge harshly.
But here’s the thing: for the hyper-efficient, the joke’s on us.
Because the J.R.R. Tolkien quote of “Not all those who wander are lost” drops some serious wisdom.
Here are three reasons why:
1. Life is bigger than getting from Point A to Point B. As humans, we tend to be myopic. We tend to think that our current issue at hand is the only issue at hand and that nothing else matters. But life has other stories, other details woven into its fabric that can serve us, if we pay attention.
For instance, say you needed to pick up some fruit at the local grocery store located one block away. It wouldn’t make sense to take a twenty-block detour. That would waste time and resources. But it’s a beautiful Spring day, and you figure why not enjoy the weather a bit? Then suppose while on that twenty-block detour, you met the love of your life? Then, in the grand scheme of things, wouldn’t that twenty-block detour save you years of dating the wrong people? Wouldn’t it actually be more efficient and important?
2. Our brains are bigger than getting from Point A to Point B. Our brains make hundreds of thousands (if not millions) of new neural connections per day. Going back to the twenty-block detour example, you might actually make new connections about what’s going on in a certain neighborhood. Whatever you saw or learned, those new neural connections may alter your perception or the story of that place and the people who reside in it. Like details planted early in a movie, information gained in those scenes may come back later in different circumstances.
3. Sometimes the most productivity comes from wandering. Visionaries understand the importance of taking non-linear routes. For instance, Steve Jobs took a gap year in 1974 to travel and study meditation in India. In not racing to start his illustrious career, he took some time to gain experience and perspective. It is said that he learned some harsh truths about the world, and that he became a Buddhist. Upon returning to the U.S. to found Apple, his experience in India helped him to create the unique culture of the tech giant which eventually transformed the world.
As much as we’d like for it to be otherwise, growth can be circuitous. It can involve many unforeseen twists and turns that can challenge and throw us out of our comfort zones. The key is to learn from those who wander. As Tolkien implies, it’s not that some people are purposeless; they could just be answering to something greater.
