One day I was just trudging along, feeling downtrodden wondering why sometimes it feels like an uphill battle. I asked a friend for some “words of wisdom” to gain a little perspective for when I feel like I'm fighting the same battles on my projects. His advice:
If you don't want to fight the same battles, change the context:
- Superior weapons
- Different opponents
- Different battlefields
As a newbie to karate, this make sense.
I also realized that there are a handful of wisdom kernels which have become embedded in my wiring:
- Doubt: Set it aside; rely on your own strength, character, and fortitude. Be American!
- Future/Dreams: The best way to predict the future is to create it.
- Best: Your best changes with internal and external forces. Consistently do your best, knowing that it fluctuates. If constantly striving to exceed your best, your resources will be depleted and tomorrow will be harder.
- Seriousness: Don’t take yourself too seriously; be happy, be willing to learn from mistakes (yours and others), be willing to share, and don’t let your ego get in the way of serving.
- Motivation: Just do your best; momentum feeds motivation
- Cutting Fees: I’d rather eat macaroni and cheese with my kids.
- Momentum: Have your own “standard” (schedule, method, sequence, etc.) use it when you’re not getting started; when you are under way, be willing to adjust your standards like Calvin and Hobbes play Calvinball.
- Endurance: As Dory from Finding Nemo says, “Just keep swimming.”
—Lisa Stacholy, AIA
Comments (2)
A perspective on how/where wisdom might be stored.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GuMZ73mT5zM
Posted by Lisa Stacholy, AIA, NCARB | November 6, 2008 2:32 PM
Posted on November 6, 2008 14:32
Hey Lisa,
I like your kernels of Wisdom. I remember the AIA was following a "knowledge model" when they created knowledge communities that placed wisdom as the highest level of thinking. Mere data were almost worthless. Data that were analyzed became informaton. Information that was able to be applied to a context became wisdom. That is, wisdom is a way of responding successfully to changing circumstances based on acquired information.
Mr. Obama has promised change. I pray that he and we have no shortage of wisdom. One of my favorite kernels of wisdom is to do your best and leave the results to God. Whatever we do in the real world there are far to many variables that we don't control to think that our efforts are the only things that matter. Many things matter and those that we can not influence only cause us damaging levels of stress if we focus on them too long. Like Stephen Covey, of 7 habits fame, I want to narrow my arrea of concern to my circle of influence. I want to spend my energy on doing something meaningful about a situation I am unhappy with. I think I have a lot of company in that set of values.
I hope others post their wisdom!
Posted by Louis Smith, AIA, NOMA | November 5, 2008 9:53 AM
Posted on November 5, 2008 09:53