In my last blog I talked about people who seem to have made a decision to accept no responsibility whatsoever. As is so often the way of things this week I have been reminded of the inherent dangers when the opposite is the case.
There’s a thing that happens, often with wonderful people, when they get so caught up in their ambition to be as good as they can possibly be they get stalled by the fear of getting things wrong. On the surface this may feel like a fair price to pay until you weigh up precisely what they lose in the process. Instead of exploring they struggle, instead of playing they panic and instead of allowing mistakes to occur (because no one can get things right all the time) they try futilely to lock everything perfectly in place and then get frustrated when perfection doesn’t occur. Their effort and passion, professionalism and energy get deflated instead of being channelled into a rewarding process that will produce infinitely better results.
I think however the main thing they lose is enjoyment in the process, in the journey. In their effort to ensure the destination is the right one and that it comes as soon as possible they forego the opportunity to discover, reflect and enjoy the view as they go. That’s a shame because good things happen on a journey taken willingly, with enthusiasm, and with eyes wide open…things that can surprise and teach and delight us…so my campaign for the week is to enjoy the journey and try and support other people in doing the same…
Wednesday, 4 November 2009
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It's a bit of a tightrope isn't it... I know exactly what you mean. We as a society get so strung up in the culture of doing great things younger, quicker, better, that it's never about the achievement itself but when and now. If you write a bestseller/start a successful company/land your dream job somewhere around the half-century age mark, people denigrate it in comparison to if you'd achieved that at a significantly younger age.
ReplyDeleteI mean, personally, I find it a little debillitating - just like you outline in your post here. You start to write things off before they've had a chance to just evolve naturally.
Good post Sarah!!