A relaxing day of rambling work

It was funny to note as I was walking to the bus stop this morning that there was a different feel than I normally have. Every month or thereabouts, I have a full day of training with a client company where I do between 7-10 sessions of an hour each pretty much flat out with each individual requiring something different depending on their immediate needs and job role. It is very interesting but at the same time, it is mentally wearing as the speed of change required can be quite extreme. I have been training this kind of way for a long time already but generally not so many in the one day.

So, the feeling I spoke of is of quite a relaxed mind about the day as if there is an expectation of ease approaching. It is definitely not an easy day but juxtaposed against my new work role, it feels easier as I have so much experience in doing it whereas lately I have been spending my time learning on the edge daily.

I don't know about others in their work roles but I usually don't get stressed as I take the attitude of, do my best and the results are the best I can do. This is at least on any given day as there are always going to be fluctuations in performance as there are so many influencing factors involved. Usually though, I try to maintain consistency of course as a process that is consistent is more likely to obtain more predictable results over time.

Consistency also allows for a better evaluation of performance and a more accurate appraisal of conditions as there are similar points to watch, meaning that it is possible to note change in the air and adjust accordingly. This is another timeline question though as what constitutes consistent and, what is a trend change in the air and what is just a passing breeze on the way through?

This is something that comes down to experience and that in itself is tied to timeline and exposure. What I find these days is that people claim experience and expertise much earlier than they once did and the experience they value they tend to overstate the importance of, something akin to padding the resume with inflated job titles and responsibilities to fill gaps in experience and impress a potential employer. This could be because they are detached from reality or perhaps, they take the fake it til you make it mindset.

There really is nothing wrong with fake it til you make it but I do think that people err on the side of faking their way into a job rather than the pretend to have a skill. There is a difference. Faking your way into a job may get you into the door but eventually, the gaps in knowledge are going to be discovered and life may not be too pleasant.

However, faking you have a skill and then working your ass off in the background to ensure that in short order, you actually have the skill can be a driver of personal growth. This doesn't work for everything though and, one has to possess the will and ability to be able to learn a skill fast. Easier said than done for most skills. This is a risk position of course and one that can make or break a career if one oversteps actual ability but, can lead to opportunities that might not have been available otherwise.

I think a lot of the faking til you make it is being driven by internet culture where people are able to talk a big game without ever really having to prove themselves from behind their skills. This is similar to the outrage and bullying culture of the internet where people who are far underqualified or would snap like twigs under physical pressure can assume positions of digital power and leverage anonymity, distance or inability to cross-reference facts to claim authority. They are protected through no recourse or consequence of action.

This of course spills out into the real world and across other fields of play where suddenly their protected selves get exposed and then, the same people claim the world as unfair and it is they who are the victims of tyranny. Curious. for example, there are plenty of free speech advocates who will openly attack positions but want their own position protected from rebuttal. Rebuttal can come in many forms. Call me names, I will likely laugh as it is of no consequence to me - someone else may punch you in the face.

As more of our lives crossover into the digital realm, the walking world will see more of the digital behaviors leak in also and, there is often a conflict between the two, especially when it comes to consequence of actions performed. A scammer online can scam community after community and never have to relocate from their mother's basement but, a conman in the real world has to always be on the run, city to city.

In my opinion, the process of a good life is to remove internal conflicts where one action is in opposition to another and it is not always an easy process, because the range of wants and desires are so complex and varied that points of contention are likely. I do the best I can each day but fail often.

I wonder though how many people live a life of digital importance yet the person who they are online and their day to day experience varies wildly. When they are tapping away at the keyboard admonishing others about the way they act, is there a conflict in what they themselves do in their day to day experience, are they projecting? We see this in the world of Instagram models with their smiling faces and then their absolute nervous breakdowns as the facade falls away and the empty shell that is their life crumbles. Some just do it for publicity though.

It is one of those strange things where people celebrate the comeback. In Finland for example it is common that stars who 'overcome' their various addictions and shortfalls are celebrated for their strength of character. Do you know who should be celebrated? All the people who didn't become addicts in the first place and who didn't act like dicks in their life. There are plenty of good people out in the world, why focus on those who are not? It is a raising of a low average from the bottom up instead of the development of brilliance from the top down. Institutional schools increase their 'success rates' this way too.

Perhaps this is a spill over from internet culture where everyone is capable of winning at something, even if it is as useless as CandyCrush. Everyone gets a prize, no matter the actual use or performance and that makes people feel that they are achieving something, even though they are not. This was the gamification of the school system before the internet and is a distraction to make child and parent feel that something is being accomplished, without accomplishment.

It is a funny world we live in and I have to say that this is a pretty rambling freewrite on the train to work today. What I find is that when I write like this before work, it helps me clear my thoughts and better interact with my clients and often, a lot of the examples I might use come up as illustrations of various points. When I train people, I use a lot of analogies that help them imagine parallel examples of their own issues faced and it seems to help them get out of the situation and process it without the emotional attachment as, it is not their story.

Well, til maybe the journey home in the evening.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]