Individuology

I remember thinking about this years ago. My thoughts try to explain ‘work’ in a non-judgmental way, reducing the so-called moral arguments to a minimum. As I see it there are 2 ways to contribute and get paid for work: By the hour, or by the piece.

The hourly people consider ‘hours worked’ as their contribution, so the notion of leaving early is wrong in their minds. Also, there is no need to define ‘success’ because success to them is putting in your time, regardless of what you
accomplish. Thank God for them, they are why we can count on a bank or grocery store being open when we expect it to be, or a plane, or a train, being on-time.

The piece work people contribute by achieving some predefined goal. If it takes 1 hour fine, but if it takes 20 hours, so be it. Without a defined goal, they would have no way of knowing when to go home.

Instead of liberal & conservative; democrat or republican; terms which tend to get everybody’s emotions all stirred up – Hourly workers and Piece-work workers can talk more rationally. To me it’s like the MBTI types*, no one is any ‘better’ than any other one. But for each Individual, whether by DNA or experiences, one definitely ‘fits’ better. Perhaps Mother Teresa said it best:

No matter who says what, you should accept it with a smile
and do your own work.
– Mother Teresa (1910-1997) Albanian Missionary

* Myers-Briggs Type Indicator

We are so used to everything being dramatic, even ordinary things made to appear more dramatic than they are. And we are exhausted. Enough already. These things are mostly beyond our reach. So-called reality shows are anything but real.

I think we are all ready for a rest. A year of ordinary everyday things. Things each and everyone of us can do. Bake an apple pie. It is said that when the student is ready the teacher will appear. I believe that teacher is Sully Sullenberger. His success was not a hurricane or volcano, or blowing up a building, but 40 years of doing each day his own private best, something within the reach of all of us. All of those thousands of ordinary days built a single day of phenomenal results, good results, not bad ones. Again, this is something within the reach of all of us.

I believe that is also the root of the popularity, and polarity, of Sarah Palin. She has succeeded by doing ordinary things consistently well. She knows how to be happy every single day. She considers it a good day when she gets up, has breakfast with her family, goes out & tries not to fall on the ice, go snow-machining, or hunting, and come home to dinner with more family. She knows how to be happy Now, and I think that irritated so many. Many who ‘will be’ happy when they get the next raise, the next promotion, the next election… But they are miserable today.

This years Rose Parade, on new years day, had a similar theme – A Cut Above the Rest. No Arnold Swartzenager, Terminator type success, just being a slight cut above the rest, a goal within everyone’s reach.

Years ago, I read many books by the motivational writer Og Mandino. Many had the word ‘Secret’ in their titles. Many of the messages boiled down to being ‘a small but measurable bit better than others’. Again, a goal within everyone’s reach. So I’m going to pursue that goal of 51%, a slight bit better, rather than the perfectionist goals of 99% or 100%. It will create a lot less stress for me and maybe, just maybe, I’ll wind up doing something worthwhile this year.