“No one ever won a chess game by betting on each move. Sometimes you have to move backward to get a step forward.”

– Amar Gopal Bose, entrepreneur and engineer

Recently, my wife and I purchased an iPad and downloaded a puzzle game that we found difficult and frustrating at first. Our attempts to process through the mazes were often thwarted as we attempted to move forward. As we realized that this strategy was not working, we began to explore alternative approaches to achieve our objectives.

Sometimes moving sideways – and often moving backwards – are the only strategies that prove successful in the end.

Exercise:

In what ways are your life, career, and relationships like a game of chess, where each move is only a small piece of the puzzle? Where could you move sideways, or even backwards, to eventually make forward progress?