Tag: failure

In every office

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There is doing well and there is doing poorly.

And then there is doing nothing, which is the worst of the three.

It goes like this.

Doing well is marginally better than doing poorly. Doing poorly is infinitely better than doing nothing.

There is also knowing about success and knowing about failures.

And then there is knowing nothing, which is the worst of the three.

It goes like this.

Knowing about success is marginally better than knowing about failures. Knowing about failures is infinitely better than knowing nothing.

This is something to remember in every office around the world.

Measuring habits

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A way to measure habits is by how long the streak is.

Another way is by how easy it is to start a new one after you’ve taken a break.

Don’t ruin the break

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If you are about to go on holiday, keep in mind that the job is still going to be there when you are back. That there are very few things that need to happen before you leave, that there are no things that need to happen when you are away, and that there are, again, very few things that need to happen as soon as you are back. In general, businesses move slow. And all the pressure we feel is often self-imposed. Don’t let that ruin your break.

If a colleague is about to go on holiday, keep in mind that the job they are doing will still be meaningful when they are back. That there are very few things that need to happen before they leave, that there are no things that need to happen when they are away, and that there is no reason in the world why it should be a good idea to send their way just a little more pressure, a tiny sudden deadline, an anxiety-inducing and unrequested meeting invite on their last day. Don’t let this ruin their break.

I am going on holiday. And I’ll probably won’t be writing for a while.

That’s ok.

At all

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There’s not only joy. There’s not only pain.

There’s not only butterflies. There’s not only dullness.

There’s not only raising. There’s not only rising above.

There’s non only failure. There’s not only success.

There’s not only together. There’s not only alone.

And actually, it turns out that most of what we remember is because of the illusions we have made out of the one and the other.

We don’t know extremes. At all.

Rows and flows of angel hair
And ice cream castles in the air
And feather canyons everywhere
Looked at clouds that way

But now they only block the sun
They rain and they snow on everyone
So many things I would have done
But clouds got in my way

I’ve looked at clouds from both sides now
From up and down and still somehow
It’s cloud illusions I recall
I really don’t know clouds at all

Joni Mitchell, Both Sides Now

Existential

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Most fears, nowadays, come from within.

There’s no existential threat in acknowledging that a colleague is doing a great job, yet we worry that our work might be underappreciated.

There’s no existential threat in telling a difficult truth, yet we worry that we might be breaking a relationship forever.

There’s no existential threat in welcoming an outsider in the community, yet we worry that it might alter the balance of things and force us to review our take on the world.

There’s no existential threat in being wrong, yet we worry that others will think less of us.

We need to find a way to comfort ourselves without harming those around us.