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Having an actual reason to get out of bed on time is good for me. In addition to helping N&N move furniture down & up stairs first thing I've also managed to knock a number of other outstanding tasks off my to-do list. I will have to take a nap before the party tonight tho'. Remember Mad Science starts at 7!
~~~
A couple of things online recently have nudged little bits of my self awareness, enough that I though 'I should write this stuff down'. I admit I may have been procrastinating that more than I could have.
1. http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/?p=1288 (and it may be worth reading the preceding few about Alexander's goals or lack thereof)
In particular from this comic though - as voiced by Nastajia
I'm a fairly reactive person myself, I tend to wait for the world to bring things to me, rather than going out and finding them. Mostly that has to do with not knowing what I'm looking for, but also because I just don't grok how.
Making decisions, I can do that. But I tend to wait (cruise) until decision points are pressed upon me than actively seek them out. Drift, rather than chart a course.
Some decisions can be skirted for a very long time when you have no set destination or are happy where you are. In the latter case it may not be an issue, but I look ahead and somehow don't want my life to be exactly the same in 5 years time. Where to make changes though - eludes me. I will not take a random heading (yes, a decision in itself) - that is no more certain of an outcome than drifting.
2. http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/07/why-you-need-to-fail.html
This post talks about two types of mindset - fixed and growth.
I'm struggling a bit with this, because I could very well fall into the fixed category. I believe I'm natively more intelligent than many, heaven knows I'm risk and failure averse, and I'd often rather stay silent than give what might be a wrong answer (even if I'm sure I'm right). I like to start with what I know and build from there rather than look for completely new solutions to problems.
While rationally I know as a CEO I should have people with different opinions on my team in practice I'm not sure I'd be able to deliberately achieve that.
On the other hand I believe in (everyone!) learning things, and I feel smart when the solution to a problem means I've learnt something new (similarly, solving a problem and then getting that sense of deja-vu that means 'yes, I've done this before, why didn't I remember?' is significantly less satisfying). And I think I've wanted to learn a new language for a long time, I just haven't had reason (can't say I haven't had time and therefore opportunity. Why I haven't made that step is something I'm still trying to understand).
Yet the purpose of doing something which is likely to fail is to definitively eliminate it as a solution (or be pleasantly surprised) while maybe gaining some insight into the problem (or the tools being used). That's the silver lining to a mostly unproductive cloud. It's an opportunity to improve, but it's not a good use of time.
Obviously this isn't a binary state but a continuum, and one it is possible to to move along. I'm probably towards the wrong end, but how does one overcome ones own mindset? Do I even really want to - but more importantly do I need to do more than thinking and wondering about it?
~~~
Enough of this grit and I may wind up with a pearl yet.
~~~
A couple of things online recently have nudged little bits of my self awareness, enough that I though 'I should write this stuff down'. I admit I may have been procrastinating that more than I could have.
1. http://www.thedreamlandchronicles.com/?p=1288 (and it may be worth reading the preceding few about Alexander's goals or lack thereof)
In particular from this comic though - as voiced by Nastajia
You have a world of possibilities open to you. You cancan do be anything you desire... in two different worlds. Yet you refuse to make a single decision for yourself. You leave everything to chance.
I'm a fairly reactive person myself, I tend to wait for the world to bring things to me, rather than going out and finding them. Mostly that has to do with not knowing what I'm looking for, but also because I just don't grok how.
Making decisions, I can do that. But I tend to wait (cruise) until decision points are pressed upon me than actively seek them out. Drift, rather than chart a course.
Some decisions can be skirted for a very long time when you have no set destination or are happy where you are. In the latter case it may not be an issue, but I look ahead and somehow don't want my life to be exactly the same in 5 years time. Where to make changes though - eludes me. I will not take a random heading (yes, a decision in itself) - that is no more certain of an outcome than drifting.
2. http://blogs.harvardbusiness.org/bregman/2009/07/why-you-need-to-fail.html
This post talks about two types of mindset - fixed and growth.
If you believe that your talents are inborn or fixed, then you will try to avoid failure at all costs because failure is proof of your limitation. People with a fixed mindset like to solve the same problems over and over again. It reinforces their sense of competence.
Children with fixed mindsets would rather redo an easy jigsaw puzzle than try a harder one. Students with fixed mindsets would rather not learn new languages. CEOs with fixed mindsets will surround themselves with people who agree with them. They feel smart when they get it right.
But if you believe your talent grows with persistence and effort, then you seek failure as an opportunity to improve. People with a growth mindset feel smart when they're learning, not when they're flawless.
Michael Jordan, arguably the world's best basketball player, has a growth mindset. Most successful people do. In high school he was cut from the basketball team but that obviously didn't discourage him: "I've missed more than 9,000 shots in my career, I've lost almost 300 games. Twenty-six times I've been trusted to take the game wining shot and missed. I've failed over and over and over again in my life. And that is why I succeed."
If you have a growth mindset, then you use your failures to improve. If you have a fixed mindset, you may never fail, but neither do you learn or grow.
I'm struggling a bit with this, because I could very well fall into the fixed category. I believe I'm natively more intelligent than many, heaven knows I'm risk and failure averse, and I'd often rather stay silent than give what might be a wrong answer (even if I'm sure I'm right). I like to start with what I know and build from there rather than look for completely new solutions to problems.
While rationally I know as a CEO I should have people with different opinions on my team in practice I'm not sure I'd be able to deliberately achieve that.
On the other hand I believe in (everyone!) learning things, and I feel smart when the solution to a problem means I've learnt something new (similarly, solving a problem and then getting that sense of deja-vu that means 'yes, I've done this before, why didn't I remember?' is significantly less satisfying). And I think I've wanted to learn a new language for a long time, I just haven't had reason (can't say I haven't had time and therefore opportunity. Why I haven't made that step is something I'm still trying to understand).
Yet the purpose of doing something which is likely to fail is to definitively eliminate it as a solution (or be pleasantly surprised) while maybe gaining some insight into the problem (or the tools being used). That's the silver lining to a mostly unproductive cloud. It's an opportunity to improve, but it's not a good use of time.
Obviously this isn't a binary state but a continuum, and one it is possible to to move along. I'm probably towards the wrong end, but how does one overcome ones own mindset? Do I even really want to - but more importantly do I need to do more than thinking and wondering about it?
~~~
Enough of this grit and I may wind up with a pearl yet.
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no subject
Date: 2009-07-18 05:08 am (UTC)From:Basically, if you always win, you never learn.
Other than that, I have no really useful advice other than that sometimes you have to say to yourself, "Fukkit. Time for me to just do it."
no subject
Date: 2009-07-18 10:39 pm (UTC)From:'The world' is not an opponent to be defeated.The game of life is not zero-sum.
You can (will) fail many times on the way to success. I do and as long as there is an alternative path to explore that's not a problem :D
I'm stupidly stubborn about not giving up on the ultimate goal though, when I have one. And that's the problem I'm struggling with right now - I can't 'just do it' if I don't know what 'it' is.