Infertility Advice in Strange Places

I mentioned a week or two ago that I was reading Maria Konnikova’s Mastermind. (Am I working on a mystery? Perhaps…). There is this part on page 82 where Konnikova cautions people to think flexibly like Holmes vs rigidly like Watson. Holmes takes in new information and changes his line of thinking. Watson rejects new information unless it confirms the mental path he’s already on.

She writes:

You can set goals to help you filter the world, but be careful lest you use these goals as blinders. Your goals, your priorities, your answer to the “what I want to accomplish” question must be flexible enough to adapt to changing circumstances. If the available information changes, so should you. Don’t be afraid to deviate from a preset plan when it serves the greater objective.

Infertility to the core. Goals as blinders? Changing circumstances? “If the available information changes, so should you. Don’t be afraid to deviate from a preset plan when it serves the greater objective.” Am I right?

Which is scary because goals feel close and greater objectives feel far away. But isn’t our greater objective to be happy? To be satisfied and use our time well on earth? To love and to be loved? Are there multiple ways to reach those greater objectives if we can be flexible like Holmes?

We go into our plans hoping they’ll come to fruition. But if they don’t, what next?

Food for thought.