I feel like I left things hanging a bit. I had a theme I was posting on, and then stopped.
Reasons? It's complicated. Some if it is that I have a full time job (on vacation right now) and I don't always want to devote my leisure to writing here...
But the bulk of it is because some days it doesn't seem to matter what I write, or think, or say. I am not one of our big decision makers. I am not wealthy, or powerful. Who is going to care if I never complete that series? And what sort of results would writing it have, anyway? Someone might read it, if they weren't bored within a couple of sentences, and think about it for a minute or two. But it probably wouldn't drive any particular changes in behavior.
Some days I go online and all I see are articles saying that this is what you need to do - Wear this. No, you have to wear that. Do this. No, do that. Say things this way. No, don't do that.
I think 'sure, I can do this. I just need to X, or Y'. But the advice can be contradictory, and I don't think these advisors know any better than you do. Success depends too much on who you're working with and what they're looking for. Plus I notice that there's still so many good, smart people who still struggle to make it. A friend of mine did a great post on tumblr the other day. It's long, but good and captures so much of what I'm wondering/ struggling with.
I don't want to believe that this is the way it is. That so much of life, so many people, will struggle and get nowhere. Especially when you see the people who are succeeding, and realize that many of them haven't actually worked harder than the people you know. Nor, necessarily, are they smarter.
I like to think I'm a realist. I never expected our system to be perfect. I thought, however, that we had rules in place that gave us the ability to change our system for the better. Voting for candidates. Voting for specific propositions. Feedback mechanisms to help keep us from going too far astray.
I also thought...well, that the system values dissent. You need people to go against the grain, because that's what breaks up groupthink and makes sure you're really analyzing a situation. Yet I've come to feel that I may, perhaps, on occasion, be penalized for being too outspoken. For not playing along. (I think I'm ultimately helping the organization. And I would hope that any boss/supervisor/manager I worked for would appreciate and value that.) Funny, our mythology of success always makes it sound like this is rewarded. The innovator who stands out from the crowd and succeeds beyond their wildest dreams. The person who speaks truth to power, and becomes a trusted advisor.
In reality, I'm beginning to think it's more likely you'll get marginalized just like the engineer who warned of the Challenger disaster. (What I find even more disturbing is how much business books etc claim they want and need this...and then create systems that seem to penalize the ones that actually provide it. You see the same sort of dilemma with work - everyone knows you get burnt out and perform less productively if you work too much, but people still feel pressured to work more and compete for least amount of sleep/most hours worked. Feel that the boss is looking for those peopel who give it their all. You can't have the former if you create a system rewarding people for the latter.)
Reasons? It's complicated. Some if it is that I have a full time job (on vacation right now) and I don't always want to devote my leisure to writing here...
But the bulk of it is because some days it doesn't seem to matter what I write, or think, or say. I am not one of our big decision makers. I am not wealthy, or powerful. Who is going to care if I never complete that series? And what sort of results would writing it have, anyway? Someone might read it, if they weren't bored within a couple of sentences, and think about it for a minute or two. But it probably wouldn't drive any particular changes in behavior.
Some days I go online and all I see are articles saying that this is what you need to do - Wear this. No, you have to wear that. Do this. No, do that. Say things this way. No, don't do that.
I think 'sure, I can do this. I just need to X, or Y'. But the advice can be contradictory, and I don't think these advisors know any better than you do. Success depends too much on who you're working with and what they're looking for. Plus I notice that there's still so many good, smart people who still struggle to make it. A friend of mine did a great post on tumblr the other day. It's long, but good and captures so much of what I'm wondering/ struggling with.
I don't want to believe that this is the way it is. That so much of life, so many people, will struggle and get nowhere. Especially when you see the people who are succeeding, and realize that many of them haven't actually worked harder than the people you know. Nor, necessarily, are they smarter.
I like to think I'm a realist. I never expected our system to be perfect. I thought, however, that we had rules in place that gave us the ability to change our system for the better. Voting for candidates. Voting for specific propositions. Feedback mechanisms to help keep us from going too far astray.
I also thought...well, that the system values dissent. You need people to go against the grain, because that's what breaks up groupthink and makes sure you're really analyzing a situation. Yet I've come to feel that I may, perhaps, on occasion, be penalized for being too outspoken. For not playing along. (I think I'm ultimately helping the organization. And I would hope that any boss/supervisor/manager I worked for would appreciate and value that.) Funny, our mythology of success always makes it sound like this is rewarded. The innovator who stands out from the crowd and succeeds beyond their wildest dreams. The person who speaks truth to power, and becomes a trusted advisor.
In reality, I'm beginning to think it's more likely you'll get marginalized just like the engineer who warned of the Challenger disaster. (What I find even more disturbing is how much business books etc claim they want and need this...and then create systems that seem to penalize the ones that actually provide it. You see the same sort of dilemma with work - everyone knows you get burnt out and perform less productively if you work too much, but people still feel pressured to work more and compete for least amount of sleep/most hours worked. Feel that the boss is looking for those peopel who give it their all. You can't have the former if you create a system rewarding people for the latter.)
I don't know if it helps, but Werepenguin seems to be working for a company that values his input (whatever it may be) and doesn't want him to work himself into the ground. He's told me he can basically have as much vacation time as he wants (for example), so long as the things that need to get done actually do get done.
ReplyDeleteIt may be kind of bitter fruit to hear that when your own working situation isn't that way, but at least there are companies* out there that do put their money where their mouth is, so to speak.
*I assume if there's one there are others.
As for the rest of it, I find it amusing (in that 'haha not actually funny at all way') that we speak so highly of the 'self-made man', of the person who 'pulled themselves up by their boostraps and made it all on their own', but the reality of that is that no one actually makes it on their own. Even if you had someone who scrimps and saves for college and works hard and all of that, a lot of what is typically termed 'success' comes down to who that person knows - the connections they made in college, etc. - or to someone who is willing to give that person a shot when others perhaps wouldn't (for whatever reason). Which doesn't diminish the hard work that this person has done, but someone else who may have worked just as hard just lost that same position/opportunity based on nothing more than another person's opinion.
*hugs* In the meantime, enjoy your vacation while you have it! :) Maybe have some Patricia's Chocolate? :) or cupcakes! or both!