So there are times I think our society is obsessed with problem-solving and discussion, but we never really do anything. After something that happened at work this week, it has me wondering how much all this talking costs.
If you walk into a book store, you almost can't get ten feet in without running smack into the latest self-help book, the latest diet book, the latest get-rich-quick book, or the latest book on management strategy. And my guess is that if you work someplace where staff meetings are routine, there's probably one problem that you talk about every single time. And every single time people throw out ideas and there's this great sense of accomplishment that the problem is on the way to being solved. I hate to be Debbie Downer, but six months from now, you're still going to be talking about that same problem.
As I look forward to yet another very important meeting, I know that we're going to talk about at least one problem that we have solved a million times, but have never really resolved. And there is a difference between solving a problem and resolving it. I'm currently the black sheep in my flock, and sharing ideas isn't something I feel comfortable doing anymore. Even if I did, I've lost confidence in the idea that anything will ever truly be done.
I don't think it's that much different in our personal lives sometimes. Blogging is a good tool for me. I like to think of it as working out sans heavy weights and the cardio. But I recognize that I sometimes seem to be pushing the same pebble up the same hill a lot of the time. The question is, how do you stop pushing the pebble and finally get it onto the pile, and what is the price we pay for never getting it there?
This week, an overloaded day taxed everyone physically and mentally. In many jobs, the result is frustration, complaining, poor morale and possibly lost productivity. In my job, it nearly cost a life, and it emotionally devastated a coworker for whom I care very much. If I had a nickle for every time we gathered and discussed what an appropriate workload is, I could quit my job and spend more time pushing this pebble. Sadly, every time we analyze the problem and we think we've come to an agreeable solution, we go back on it. When things happen like they did this week, it makes me wish the overload was burgers not patients.
Many of us are working in jobs we didn't plan for. Our lives led us down paths with strange and unexpected twists and turns. Meeting "the one" led us to move to a small town where our career options are limited. Losing a job led us fearfully into a safer position that gives us security, but not as much fulfillment. As a result, we end up living a life of shoulda, coulda, woulda, and "I wish."
Sometimes we find ourselves in friendships and relationships that are uneven and may be doing us more harm than good. We stay in them because we fear rejection, we fear being alone, or it's easier than trying something new.
Since here's no way to measure the emotional toll, we're doomed to continue. What I wish is that we had to put a dollar in a slot every time we said "I wish" and did nothing about it. I think only then would we realize how much of our time we are losing everyday and how much that time and all this talk really costs us.
I know it seems extreme to say that every "I wish" is one step closer to our undoing, but "I wishes" are like days. Every day that passes leads us one day closer to our last one. Life is too short to be filled with "I wish" instead of "I will." How much of your life can you afford to give away? Is there any part of your life that should belong to someone or something that doesn't turn your "I wishes" into "I did" or "I am?"
I think about the patient we almost lost this week because of crazy, and I want to look at my life with the same care and attention she deserved and should have been getting. Her life is precious. My life is precious. What about yours?
http://youtu.be/W0uqLM1uj_k
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