Fresh Perspective Starts Here

I used to think clarity came from thinking harder. Sitting with a problem longer. Making another list.

But every summer, I am reminded that clarity often comes from putting yourself someplace new (and removing yourself from your usual). I once again got this lesson, twice. First on a road trip through the mountains with my kids. Then, a few weeks later, in a national park I never planned to visit.

What the Mountain Taught Me About Standing Still

I recently went on a road trip to visit a friend who has a mountain house; I went in thinking it would be a physical reset. My kids and I could use an adventure. My nervous system could use some quiet.

What I didn’t expect was how much mental clarity showed up.

Somewhere around day two, with no work emails and no chores to do, my brain stopped running its usual loops. The ones about client calls, about the next LinkedIn post, about whatever fire needed putting out back home. There were just the trees, the mountain, and spending time with people important to me; not a sign of my to-do list.

That’s the thing about routine. It’s efficient, but it’s also a groove. And grooves, if you stay in them long enough, start to feel like the only path available. Our little road trip reminded me the groove is a choice, not a law of physics.

Then Southern California Happened

Fast forward to a trip that popped up out of nowhere. Part business, part fun, down in Southern California. I had a schedule. I had a plan. The schedule didn’t go as planned and I suddenly had two days with nothing assigned. My BFF mentioned she had plans to drive three hours and then take a boat to a national park that was on her bucket list. Did I want to come? It wasn’t part of the plan, but who passes on a boat ride to a national park that is actually a chain of islands?!

So, I went.

I hadn’t done any research. I had no expectations. Just a couple of unplanned days before my return trip home.

And it ended up being one of the best parts of the whole summer (so far).

Not because the park itself was more impressive than I expected, though it was beautiful. But because saying yes to something unplanned did something to my brain that the planned parts of the trip couldn’t. It reminded me how good it feels to not know exactly what’s coming next. To be in the present moment and just say yes to opportunities that present themselves real time. How much creative energy lives in the unscripted moment.

I came home from that trip with three new ideas for my business. Not one of them showed up during the “work stuff” I had scheduled. All three showed up on a dusty trail I hadn’t planned to be on.

Why This Matters More Than It Sounds Like It Does

Here’s what I’ve noticed, both in my own life and in the stuck-feeling clients I coach every week: the people who feel most trapped are almost never lacking in effort. They’re lacking in novelty.

Your brain solves problems differently when it’s not in its usual environment. Psychologists have a name for this, something about how routine creates cognitive ruts that make it harder to see new solutions. I just call it what it feels like: stale air. And the fix isn’t more effort inside the same four walls. It’s opening a window.

You don’t need a mountain or a national park to get the benefit. You need the willingness to disrupt the pattern, even in small ways.

Three Things You Can Do Today, No Flight Required

1. Take a different route.
Drive, walk, or commute somewhere familiar, but take the long way, or a way you’ve never gone. Novel scenery does something to your brain that the same four turns every day cannot.

2. Change your environment for one task.
Take the one piece of work you’re stuck on and do it somewhere you’ve never worked before. A different room. A coffee shop. Your own front porch. New environment, new angle.

3. Say yes to the unplanned thing.
This week, when something unscheduled comes up, a walk, a coffee with someone you haven’t talked to in a while, a spontaneous stop on your errand route, say yes before your brain talks you out of it. That’s the muscle. The national park detour and the impromptu coffee are built from the same instinct.

None of these requires a plane ticket or a budget you don’t have right now. They require the same thing that got me on to see a gorgeous view of Diablo Lake in the Norther Cascades and into Channel Islands National Park in Southern California: a willingness to step outside the groove, even for an afternoon.

Comfort zones are cozy. They’re also where perspective goes to stagnate. Step out. See what shows up.

And none of this should be a surprise to you. It’s the same reason leadership teams go “off-site” to do annual planning, or industries host conferences in a fancy hotel in a big city. In part the new environment, part the connection to others, helps us remind our brains that there are many uncharted ideas outside our usual groves.

If you’re stuck in a groove and need some help to get new perspective, reach out. I do this type of work with my clients regularly. I’m just a DM away. Let me know what you did to get out of your regular groove. Pictures and stories are always welcome.

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Yvonne Lee-Hawkins is a Holistic Career & Burnout Coach supporting high-performing professionals through career transitions, leadership challenges, and burnout recovery.

You can find out more on her website, or follow her on LinkedIn, Medium, or Instagram.