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PONDERING CORE ESSENCE
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So, my "work personality" has been characterized as the "Objective Thinker". I do have pride in my clarity of thought, and I have no doubt that this characterization does capture a primary aspect of my younger self, my behavior at work, and my answers to the survey in which I participated back in 2008. Now, no particular characterization is any "better" than others, but there are key benefits to utilizing the strengths of an Objective Thinker:
There was a time when I thought this would be more than enough for me to succeed at life and work, and I have in many ways and by many measures. But age and experience make it obvious that it is necessary to at least acknowledge some Costs and Missed Opportunities associated with attacking life as a radicalized Objective Thinker. For instance, I've often been guilty of the following:
The bottom line is that I am pretty highly functional in familiar situations, or where I have a flow of decipherable, pertinent data, but when faced with ambiguity, these costs can really exert themselves. Doubt can paralyze me into an inactive state. For much of my life, if I (even perceived that I) haven't been in a position to do something well, I haven't pursued it. For a good chunk of the last decade, I've been working on mitigating these costs by recognizing them and increasing my tolerance for my shortcomings and those of others. I've accepted more risk, I've listened to intuition, I've valued the honest emotions of myself and others, and I've enjoyed challenging established ways of doing things. I've made a concerted effort to bridge differences with those with whom I share goals (whether family, customers or co-workers.) This has not been easy, but I think these efforts have been reflected in my relationships, my work effectiveness and (most importantly) my personal sense of well-being. *** Now, how best to phrase this? "As I've learned these life lessons, the quality of my fishing has improved?" Or, "As my fishing has improved, I've learned these important life lessons?" Regardless, at least on a limited basis, I am willing to recognize Fishing (well) as a metaphor for Living (well). It's too easy to just check off many of the traits bulleted above to make this case. For instance, working hard at making quality presentations with data-validated approaches will put fish in the boat. Do so with focus and a machine-like reproduction of successful presentations, and you can fill the boat with your fish. But what if it is simply not working? Then, changing gears, listening to your gut, acting on a sudden inspiration and adopting tactics borrowed from others might be the ticket. Doing so earlier, as opposed to later, could be critical. Simply maintaining enough confidence to stay on the water, if only because of what might happen, can really change the day's outcome. Please recall my natural predilection for Lack of Action in Uncertain Circumstances. This has cost me many potential days on the water because of my long-term nemesis, The Wind. Perhaps "frenemy" is a better term, because while I know that some Wind is certainly a fisherman's best friend to get fish going, too much Wind (all too frequent here in Michigan) certainly causes problems. And these are the types of problems that I've often actively avoided. Long before Wind creates safety issues, it presents problems with boat control and lure presentation. With these keys to a good day on the water possibly hindered, and just being cognizant of the simple monetary costs of a trip, the risk of a skunk and the general fear of failure have, on many occasions, kept me off the water. Ambiguity and doubt have disabled my fishing action. And, while I suspect that I did many worthwhile things with the time I ended up spending Not Fishing, I know that I didn't catch any worthwhile fish during that time. I was recently presented with a scheduled day off work. It was, indeed, a windy day. "Old Steve" would likely have not gone fishing. But "New Steve" decided that chances for any fishing success were greater out on the water than from the couch. Moreover, New Steve recognized that his fishing dreams do have both validity and value, and re-evaluated the potential costs of the trip (as described above) as having no real consequences. In fact, I can say that I've embraced Doubt as a major part of the Fishing Challenge, and I've used tough conditions and new waters (both too prevalent) as a recent source of motivation for my efforts. So, I did go fishing that day. Despite the wind, traffic, heavy seas, stained water, a lost tooth and a tough bite, I caught a near-Personal Best smallmouth bass. I caught it on an initial cast of a specific bait that I dug out of the tackle box based on my reading of the situation and a sudden stroke of inspiration. Catching this fish is a great result in and of itself, but in fact pales in comparison to the value of all these lessons learned, both on the water and at my desk. My life lessons are helping my fishing. My fishing is shaping my life. I'm glad I've got some sort of productive synergy going. Fishing (well) is Living (well.) Living (well) is Fishing (well.) At least, in part; and even if I don't catch anything while doing so. Pondering the questions of core essence and finding meaning in unexpected ways
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Steve LachanceVia Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Michigan and now, back to New England! Archives
June 2024
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