Quotes and Wisdom
from the Top of the Mind™
from the Top of the Mind™
Ambition
"If you are not playing a big enough game, you will screw up the game you are playing just to give yourself something to do."
For those of you not familiar with the works of John-Rodger and Peter McWilliams, they have written several excellent books, such as "Life 101," "You Can't Afford the Luxury of a Negative Thought" and "Do it: Let's Get Off Our Buts." I have chosen this quote of theirs for inclusion in our ongoing weekly connection because it seems to shed some very valuable light on why some of us might be "screwing up our game," so to speak, or why we may be underachieving in situations where we clearly have the ability to succeed. Maybe we are not playing a "big enough game," or put another way, maybe what we are doing isn't tapping into our motivation to do it well.
This is probably easiest to see with especially bright and creative kids in school. When an assignment or project is not particularly challenging or interesting, they will often look around for something else to do. This "something else" often takes the form of talking with or playing jokes on their friends, or generally making mischief in the classroom, which of course has them labeled as unfocused, a trouble maker, or even ADHD.
In the adult world, this can show up as employees picking fights with their coworkers or customers, spreading gossip, or just spending their time complaining about some aspect of the organization. In fact, even middle managers can fall into this behavioral trap if they feel that their work is boring, mundane, or of no real significance.
So, what can be done? Well, if "we are the ones who are screwing up the game we are playing just to give ourselves something to do," then we have two choices. We can either make our "game" more interesting or change the game.
Making our game more interesting might include our asking for more challenging responsibilities or assignments, or maybe just finding more interesting ways to do the tasks we have been assigned. I remember a student once who didn't really enjoy writing paper after paper in high school and college. He asked his teachers if he could create audio visual projects instead, and it turned out to be a great move for all concerned. The student became VERY familiar with the subject matter because he was engaged in the process of creating audio visual projects, and the teachers loved the idea because they saw a student get excited about their class (and of course, they had one less paper to grade).
If, on the other hand, we determine that nothing about the game can be changed (and we need to be careful not to make this decision too quickly) then we can choose to change the game. This, of course, means leaving the current environment and going in search of other jobs, schools, etc., that give us the opportunity to grow and bring our best to life.
Regardless of our choice, however, what we don't want is to continue to screw the game up just to give ourselves something to do, for the game isn't just a job or a project. It's a statement about who we are and how we show up in the world. In other words, it's our life and our legacy, and my guess is that "screw up" isn't the way we want to be remembered.
This is probably easiest to see with especially bright and creative kids in school. When an assignment or project is not particularly challenging or interesting, they will often look around for something else to do. This "something else" often takes the form of talking with or playing jokes on their friends, or generally making mischief in the classroom, which of course has them labeled as unfocused, a trouble maker, or even ADHD.
In the adult world, this can show up as employees picking fights with their coworkers or customers, spreading gossip, or just spending their time complaining about some aspect of the organization. In fact, even middle managers can fall into this behavioral trap if they feel that their work is boring, mundane, or of no real significance.
So, what can be done? Well, if "we are the ones who are screwing up the game we are playing just to give ourselves something to do," then we have two choices. We can either make our "game" more interesting or change the game.
Making our game more interesting might include our asking for more challenging responsibilities or assignments, or maybe just finding more interesting ways to do the tasks we have been assigned. I remember a student once who didn't really enjoy writing paper after paper in high school and college. He asked his teachers if he could create audio visual projects instead, and it turned out to be a great move for all concerned. The student became VERY familiar with the subject matter because he was engaged in the process of creating audio visual projects, and the teachers loved the idea because they saw a student get excited about their class (and of course, they had one less paper to grade).
If, on the other hand, we determine that nothing about the game can be changed (and we need to be careful not to make this decision too quickly) then we can choose to change the game. This, of course, means leaving the current environment and going in search of other jobs, schools, etc., that give us the opportunity to grow and bring our best to life.
Regardless of our choice, however, what we don't want is to continue to screw the game up just to give ourselves something to do, for the game isn't just a job or a project. It's a statement about who we are and how we show up in the world. In other words, it's our life and our legacy, and my guess is that "screw up" isn't the way we want to be remembered.
Take care and God bless, Dr. Bill