That’s how we do things here!’ A line that we often hear when we run into common beliefs. This can often be a barrier for change.
I read about this family experience that a trainer named Tom Hopkins from the US shared in a workshop.
‘A few years ago, I met my future mother-in-law for the first time. She was preparing lamb roast for dinner. As she readied the lamb to go into the oven, she cut off the shank and threw it in the bin. She then placed the tray in the oven. I was stunned. I asked why she did it. ‘We always do that’ she replied. I kept quiet.
An year later, my wife was preparing lamb roast for dinner. Just as her mother did, my wife removed the shank and disposed it. Unable to contain, I asked my wife why she did it. ‘We’ve always done that’ she said. ‘But why?’ I persisted. ‘I don’t know. That’s what our family have always done’ she replied. This would repeat every time lamb roast was made.
Years later we were visiting my wife’s grandma in her home of 50 years. She was making lamb roast. I saw her remove the shank and throw it in the bin before placing the tray in the oven. I had to ask: ‘Forgive me, I don’t want to sound rude, but can you tell me why you did that?’
‘Of course, I can’ she said. ‘This old house has only got a tiny oven and I can’t fit the entire roast in with the shank still attached.’
Doing things because that’s what we normally do isn’t good strategy
Source:
A story shared in a Storytelling Workshop I attended earlier this year with Anecdote International
For veggies like me this is what a lamb shank is all about