I struggle with people who don’t want to be more than average. I do. I really cannot figure out why people don’t want to strive to be their best. I get the whole notion of it takes hard work, it is not easy, blah, blah, blah. The lines that we use over and over as coaches, parents, and educators.
There has to be something more to it. This weekend I was doing my regular backreading of Seth Godin and one of his blog posts nailed it although maybe not his intent.
It has finally hit me! [bctt tweet=”Because if we choose, then we are responsible, aren’t we?”]
It is much easier to not be responsible. It is safer to be negative and bash, make fun of, and collaborate with others by pointing the finger at others because there is no responsibility. We live in a society where nothing is ever our fault. In order to make gains and strides toward being more than average you actually have to go against the grain of society. That is tough. Peer pressure is a monster.
I get it now! The fear is not so much the work because if you have passion and are driven, then work is not a problem. The fear is in responsibility.
What if it goes wrong?
What if the project does not the follow the plan?
What if we end up somewhere different than we intended?
What if we find shortcuts?
What if we find something nobody else has found?
I think you get the point. If you do, then perhaps think about this: Are the answers to these questions bad? Or is it pointing to the reason we get out of bed everyday?
Aaron,
This post hits home. I agree with the thought process because if we choose we are responsible. I too struggle with why not give your best at what you choose to do. If you choose a career in education why wouldn’t you want to be the best. I try to inspire people to give their best effort and if it fails learn from it, but I can not stand educators who just punch the clock.