Build a bridge

I am a freelancer, a soldier of fortune. A small business operator. If I don't work, I don't get paid. If I don't work to get work, I have no work to work at to get paid. Without adding another layer, let's just say that it takes a fair amount of hustle and even then, it isn't easy because even if the work is obtained, being a contractor means, perform or your services are no longer required.

This is the game, it is what it is.

The interesting thing is that I deal with large corporations and help them and their people improve their results but one thing continually keeps arising and that is, people think that their job is their job. What they don't realize is that it is not, they are contractors too albeit, on more stable terms. This often translates into any changes being met with resistance as people identify with what they do as part of them and changing what they do becomes a forceful act of some kind.

A freelancer doesn't have the luxury to throw up resistance to change as the company is under no obligation to keep them. What this often means is that even though an outsourced worker might be more expensive, they are often also more likely to get the job done as to not do it is to draw a line across the back of the neck and put their head on the chopping block. Essentially, a freelancer is free to pick and choose the work but, the hiring parties are free to not hire or discontinue contracts.

But, employees aren't in this position. For example, one of the companies I work for is introducing new resource software and there is a lot of resistance to the change, even though most people haven't come close to seeing, let alone using it yet. They just don't like change and their are voicing their opinions. There is nothing wrong with the voicing of opinions but, this change is obligatory. The decision has already been made yet, the grumbling continues and resistance continues. Something that wouldn't happen if they were freelancers.

At this point of the article, I could fork it off in several ways that will go into some things along business lines but instead of that, lets relate it to an individual who has experienced something negative.

In Finnish there is a saying I like which translated is:

Do, or cry and do.

What this means is either way, you are going to have to do it. This is how I think people should be when dealing with a lot of the negative issues they face. What kind of annoys me is that people put off doing what needs to be done because they do not feel like doing it. Sure, a little delay here or there is not necessarily a bad thing but, making a habit of only doing when feeling good is going to lead to doing very little which will inevitably lead to more negative feelings. I know, I lived that way for several years.

The other thing that kind of annoys me is when something that happened in the past is gripped onto so tightly that there is no real movement made without it being driven by that past event. People become obsessive compulsive over a whole range of things and hold on, even when they no longer need to.

Dealing with these things is of course the way to go rather than avoidance but, dealing with them doesn't mean to obsess endlessly about them without action, it means to change, adjust, adapt, evolve and obtain whatever skills, resources and thinking processes necessary to move on.

Build a bridge and get over it.

This is a platitude of sorts and is generally said in a condescending way by those who are tired of the whining from someone who just won't move on, but there is truth in the phrase also. The building of the bridge is undertaking an active path to overcoming. It is an empowering process, not one that attempts to just forget what has happened or the setbacks faced.

This seems pretty unrelated to the start but in my opinion, we are all freelancers and soldiers and what we have to deal with is the obstacles that get in our way of having a better life. The largest obstacle we have is ourselves by far.

Lots of people might have a problem with my views on this and think it means that I see the process as 'easy' or minimizing people's experience but, that is not what I am saying or doing at all. What I am saying though is that sitting around complaining, upset, depressed, sick, tired or in a bad mood for too long doesn't help the situation get better. People think that they cannot act or work under such conditions but, that is rarely actually the case. One can feel terrible and still get a lot done.

The human mind (and body for that matter) is remarkably resilient and insanely capable of taking discomfort and healing from injury. We limit our thinking in so many ways and set ourselves up for defeat before we have even really given something a decent try.

If one looks back in history to find stories of people who have not only overcome intense trauma but thrived, we can see testaments to what the mind is capable of. The interesting thing for the most part is that if they can do it, anyone can but, to truly understand this means to be willing to fully experience it.

None of us have easy lives in every way and even though what we face will differ by degrees, all of us are going to be challenged, oppressed, knocked down, kicked and left bloody more than once in this life at least. Learning to face up to these things doesn't just mean more discomfort, it means a chance at a good life thereafter and the tools to face the next setback.

We are strong. Don't act otherwise.

Taraz
[ a Steem original ]