I went to the doctor's office a few weeks ago, and the one of the doctor's assistants led me into a large room lined with chairs all facing out a large picture window. The window was facing the parking lot, but beyond that there was a great view of the mountains. In the city where I live, you're never more than five miles from the adjacent mountain range bordering the north side of the city, so there are lots of vantage points where you can look out and see them.

But I'm originally from the Detroit area, which is topographically as a flat as a pancake, and where I sit at work, I don't have a view of the mountains. So I said to the assistant, "Wow, you guys sure do have a great view from here."

She followed my eyes out the window and snorted. "Yeah, a great view," she said sarcastically, "of the parking lot." I can tell from the way she said it that she completely missed what I was really talking about. She had no idea I was being sincere, and that I was talking about the mountains.

We all get used to things. We spend every day immersed in our routines, where we become oblivious to the mountains and dwell on the parking lot that's right in front of us. We adapt, and part of that is losing perspective on the stuff we see all the time. That's human nature.

But I hope, for your sake, that when someone comes to your office, and points out how nice the mountains look, that at that point you'll at least be able to see them and not just the parking lot.