Yesterday, me and most of the family went on one of our favourite walks: to Blawearie, an abandoned farmstead on Bewick Moor in Northumberland. It’s a magical place as, despite consisting of just two tiny cottages and a shed, somebody took the time and effort to fashion the limestone outcrop beside the buildings into a dramatic garden with walls and steps twisting around and over the enormous sandstone boulders which are gripped by the gnarled roots of wind-blasted trees.

We’ve been there loads of times, but this time we didn’t follow our usual signposted circular route but, taking advantage of our right to roam, climbed onto Bewick Hill with its pair of iron-age hill forts, mysterious cup and ring carvings on rocks and two second world war pill boxes. Added to this was the incredible view, both west over the Till valley to the Cheviots and back to Blawearie which we saw from a whole new perspective. We ambled back to the car with grins on our faces.

Like most people, I like a routine, but can quickly get into a enthusiasm-draining rut. So, I’ve made it a new rule that, when going for a hike or a bike ride, I try to deviate from my normal route, even just a little. And that deviation almost always opens up new vistas, new possibilities and is very inspiring.

It’s this reason that Sustainability professionals keep coming back to the Corporate Sustainability Mastermind Group – they always end up with a fistful of new perspectives on familiar situations. Just by talking through a perennial problem with like-minded people working in different sectors, new possibilities open up, keeping the buzz alive and getting them out of the rut of ‘business as usual’.

You can of course do this yourself – take yourself off to a coffee shop with a notepad and pen and sketch out problems and possibilities. But its even more powerful when somebody else is asking the question ‘why?’ – a good coach can help you throw off self-restricting mindsets and make the most of your potential.