I’ve been enjoying reading John Edward Huth’s book The Lost Art of Finding Your Way where he describes how “experienced navigators” understand that there is a ”fixed percentage of uncertainty” whenever they are heading towards a destination, even when using a compass, and that margin of error is 5-10%.
Hutch writes, and “uncertainties in heading and speed only accumulate with time, resulting in an ever-growing uncertainty in position as the journey progresses. If you travel at 3 miles an hour with a 10 percent uncertainty, after twelve hours, your position is 36 miles from your starting point with an uncertainty of 3.6 miles. After twenty-four hours that uncertainty grows to 7.2 miles.”
What this means is whenever we are setting out on a journey where we can’t use GPS – a hike, a project at work or home, a new habit we are nurturing – it’s important to recognize likely we will arrive near, but not exactly where we were heading. Taking into account Huth’s “fixed percentage of uncertainty” can help us better measure and define a successful journey.
——
To download or share a free copy of my new book How to Feel (a little better): 50 Ideas for 2024 CLICK HERE.
If you know someone who might like to receive a daily email of On Emotions CLICK HERE.
On Emotions 