It’s like the weather.
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Notes
It’s obviously absurd to spend time and psychic energy worrying about how the weather will affect our plans, living out or suffering the bad weather in advance.
Worrying about a work’s reception (“market acceptance,” reactions of a boss or critics) is equally absurd and distracting: “When we get really attached to how others will react to our work, we stop focusing on our work and begin to focus on controlling the outcome instead.”
Thoughts
This makes sense to me, intellectually, but I am still feeling some resistance to this. I think the problem is that when I think about the outcome—at least the outcome that matters—I’m not thinking of the market or critics, but of the change or difference that work can make. And that seems more important, which in turn makes it seem like I should really want a good outcome.
But the shift in focus from acceptance to impact doesn’t really change anything. As with the weather, I can’t control the impact my work will have either.
I need to keep all my focus on the work, and let the outcomes take care of themselves.
This series is meant to capture my thoughts as I work through Seth Godin’s The Practice. It’s a book with over 200 (very short) chapters, which I hope to work through and, I further hope, to implement over time.
If you’re interested in more of Godin’s ideas, or my thoughts about them, you can check out this collection of posts. Note that if you’re more interested in the former, you should probably get Godin’s book and read it yourself; my notes will be both incomplete and idiosyncratic, and my thoughts will relate to my own experience.
But if my thoughts resonate with you, or if you think I’m just silly, I welcome your comments.