My father once taught me "either do it well or not at all." I followed that advice for a decade or two and it served me well.
Then I found a mentor who told me "spend as much little time as you can to avoid wiping out. Spend the rest of your time striving for success." This was a much more nuanced approach that left room for me brushing my teeth, filing my taxes, and staying out of prison – all things for avoiding major failure, but also encouraging me to do the *bare minimum* necessary to cover my assets.
The Michelangelo story is great, by the way. There's a modern version called the "Queen's Duck" where you intentionally add something unnecessary so the busybodies can ask you remove it before you release it into the wild. It's an effective way to get crap past the radar.
In modern bureaucracies, where the approver chain can be several people long, it's almost certain that you'll get a busybody somewhere along the way. Add something you know will be shot down so the busybodies feel useful.
This way, you *prevent* problems before they ever rise to tantalize your sense of self-righteousness!
Thank you. I really enjoyed today’s read. It struck a cord with me but I do have reservations. One of them is whether or not it’s right to be true to yourself and your own reactions. This leads on to:- Is it right to take on somebody else’s take on how you should react to things. I do understand what you’re saying and it probably makes for her calmer easier life.
I really enjoyed reading this. You’re absolutely correct but it’s hard to let go when you’re perhaps wired that way. I can show no reaction but it still eats me up inside.. working on it!
Thank you so much for sharing this. It's a timely reminder that we must choose to ignore the trivial and focus on what is in alignment with our life. Like you said, we just save our energy on things that deserve it.
Thank you very much for such an indepth analysis. I think this is and if the main arts of life - ability to not put too much emphasis on things which are of little importance. It burns lots of mental energy but sometimes is like wasps - just wouldn't go.
My father once taught me "either do it well or not at all." I followed that advice for a decade or two and it served me well.
Then I found a mentor who told me "spend as much little time as you can to avoid wiping out. Spend the rest of your time striving for success." This was a much more nuanced approach that left room for me brushing my teeth, filing my taxes, and staying out of prison – all things for avoiding major failure, but also encouraging me to do the *bare minimum* necessary to cover my assets.
The Michelangelo story is great, by the way. There's a modern version called the "Queen's Duck" where you intentionally add something unnecessary so the busybodies can ask you remove it before you release it into the wild. It's an effective way to get crap past the radar.
In modern bureaucracies, where the approver chain can be several people long, it's almost certain that you'll get a busybody somewhere along the way. Add something you know will be shot down so the busybodies feel useful.
This way, you *prevent* problems before they ever rise to tantalize your sense of self-righteousness!
Great piece. This spoke to me as I have these battles right now.
Pick your battles.
Thank you. I really enjoyed today’s read. It struck a cord with me but I do have reservations. One of them is whether or not it’s right to be true to yourself and your own reactions. This leads on to:- Is it right to take on somebody else’s take on how you should react to things. I do understand what you’re saying and it probably makes for her calmer easier life.
I really enjoyed reading this. You’re absolutely correct but it’s hard to let go when you’re perhaps wired that way. I can show no reaction but it still eats me up inside.. working on it!
Thank you so much for sharing this. It's a timely reminder that we must choose to ignore the trivial and focus on what is in alignment with our life. Like you said, we just save our energy on things that deserve it.
Thank you very much for such an indepth analysis. I think this is and if the main arts of life - ability to not put too much emphasis on things which are of little importance. It burns lots of mental energy but sometimes is like wasps - just wouldn't go.