“They that will not be counselled, cannot be helped. If you do not hear reason, she will rap you on the knuckles.” – Benjamin Franklin
Viewing entries tagged
personal development
“Humans are social animals. There are probably dozens of ways we absorb energy, inspiration, skills, and character traits from those around us. Sometimes we learn by example. Sometimes success appears more approachable and ordinary, because we see normal people achieve it, and perhaps that encourages us to pursue schemes with higher payoffs. Sometimes the people around us give information we need or encouragement, or contacts, or even useful criticism. We can’t always know the mechanism by which others change our future actions, but it is pretty clear it happens, and it’s important. Years ago, I mocked an intern for thinking his choice of neighbors would influence his career. If he’s reading this, I’d like to offer my apology. I can easily see that were you live might influence the energy you put into your career. If you live near optimistic winners, whose qualities are sure to rub off to some extent. And I advise you to consider is fact a primary tool for programming your moist-robot self. The programming interface is your location. To change yourself, part of the solution might involve spending more time with the people who represent the change you seek.”
– Scott Adams in his book How to Fail at Almost Everything and Still Win Big
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” – Socrates
“You don’t make mistakes. Mistakes make you.” – from The Last Word movie
Read more by Jennifer Davis about making mistakes.
Call it an “artist’s temperament” or perhaps the high propensity of ADHD among artists, chaos often follows artistry. Whether you are talking about a visual artist, painter, musician, or even a creative software developer, things like time management, detail-orientation, and the need for clarity is often low. They are more comfortable with uncertainty, with ambiguity, and take a more flexible approach to things (often everything except their art).
Some of us straddle the worlds of art and science. We have responsibilities to design the systems and then keep the trains running on time. And when we feel like the chaos factor swings a little high, it might be time for us to channel our inner artist. And realize the only thing we control is our art.
"Be the person your dog thinks you are." - Bert Jacobs, founder of Life is Good
"You will never climb Career Mountain and get to the top and shout, 'I made it!' You will rarely feel done or complete or even successful. Most people I know struggle with that complicated soup of feeling slighted on one hand to feeling like a total fraud on the other. Our ego is a monster that loves to sit at the head of the table, and I have learned that my ego is just as rude and loud and hungry as everyone else's. It doesn't matter how much you get; you are left wanting more. Success is filled with MSG."
- Amy Poehler, comedian, actor, and best-selling author
English is a strange language. Of that, there is no doubt or dispute. The amalgamation and combination of various tongues and cultures have resulted in an ever-changing and nearly-impossible-to-codify language system that ranks among the most difficult to master.
I have been reminded of this recently when reflecting on the word: fearless.
There is a plaque in my office, created by a friend, that has this word written on the face. She meant it as a compliment and a reminder. She commented that she saw me as someone who fearlessly faced change, ambiguity, and challenge and created something remarkable as a result. I am deeply humbled by this description. I also know it was to serve as a reminder that I do my best when I bring my best, fearless self to the work at hand. It has been my office for a while and having it there on the shelf, in the landscape of my periphery every day, is undoubtedly serving both her purposes. I must admit, I leaves me with a bit of an imposter’s syndrome, because I know how many fears and doubts that I live with each day. And I know I am not alone and that the word itself is part of the problem and possibly the solution.
But the word “fearless,” is often used to synonymously with fear-free. “He ran fearlessly into the burning building to save the child,” the newspaper will report of the local hero. “She has a fearless brush stroke,” they will sell of an artist’s boldness. “He is fearless and just free-climbed Half Dome,” someone will remark about an athlete’s death-defying feats. But any of these people will tell you that they have doubts. They are not guaranteed success. They have fears. They are not fear-free, but rather they are overcoming their fears. What does it truly mean to be fearless?
The answer might be hidden in the word itself. The term “less” is a relative word. It implies that it is less when compared to something else. I am sure you can sting your eyes with “tearless” shampoo, but it is meant to imply a relative safety to other products on the market. We use words like seamless, matchless, baseless, careless, effortless, heartless, motionless, priceless, and thankless as if they are absolutes, but they are really descriptions of relation. You can be seemingly tireless, but still get tired. Tireless is what others observe, but the truth is far more nuanced. The comparison you might make is between yourself and others or between yourself on different days and in different situations.
In my experience, courage is not the anecdote of fear. It is action. Fear can be paralyzing, especially when combined with a vivid imagination, but the fearless face it down, give it a name, and move forward. Not recklessly, but with calculated intention, identifying and mitigating risks. To be fearless is just to strive to fear less than you did the day before and you do that with action. Before long, you are accomplishing things never before possible.
We live in strange and scary times. Unprecedented stress combined with new technologies bring the raw edges of humanity to the surface and the world stage. If there was ever a time for fearlessness, the time is now.
This article was published on LinkedIn Pulse.