January 6, 2014
I’ve talked with several of my friend over the past few days and have considered some ideas about the pursuit of excellence. I think I know how to help people improve. I can help you train for a marathon, sing a solo, give a great speech, or design a sophisticated research experiment,,,, but one thing I can’t do is give you the desire to do it. The drive and burning desire to achieve has to come from within. You have to want it. I can ask a bunch of questions and try to help people see reality, but I can’t generate that initial spark that becomes the “want” and drive for excellence. A buddy of mine said the spark comes from our background and can be due to either positive or negative experiences. In some cases, we see something, have an interaction, or are touched by an experience that we want to relive. We want to recapture and have more of it. This desire becomes so strong that we develop a craving. We feel so strongly that we work, sacrifice and defer gratification so we acquire the resources or circumstances to actualize that experience.
In other circumstances, we encounter something that we want to avoid. To avoid the distasteful and unpleasant, we work to establish an environment in which the occurrence rate is nearly obviated. I think the positive forces are stronger than the negative and are more likely to be the drivers for sustained efforts. However, I’ve been poor and I don’t want to live like that again. I can see that I’ve worked pretty hard to avoid this negative and have built a set of circumstances that keep my family and me well fed, clothed, and with good shelter.
Notice how both of these forces are laden with emotion. I used the word “want” over and again. But this is not an empty or even a voiced desire. These are powerful forces that go to our core personalities and that can act for a lifetime. If we can stimulate this spark in others, we make life-long converts and contribute to life altering decisions.
A corollary question is, “Why do some people say they want to improve, but do not act?”
I see three fundamental reasons for people not wanting to improve:
- They don’t know that they can or know how to improve.
- They are afraid.
- They are lazy.
I’m in the education and coaching business. I try to model the quest for excellence and encourage everyone to improve and strive for the next level. My goal in life is to work at fulfilling my God-given talents and capabilities and to help others do the same. It may be a cliché, but my student’s success is my greatest reward.
I hate fear and find it debilitating. When I am afraid, really fearful, I freeze and stop dead in my tracks. I abhor that sense of helplessness and work to overcome it. I understand fear and try to be supportive, act as a cheerleader, and try to show people that fear is often just an illusion. Now we can’t be fool hardy and put ourselves in dangerous situations thoughtlessly, but I always want to overcome mere trepidation and apprehension so I continue to act.
Laziness, slothfulness, and apathy – I have a very short fuse here and have very little patience for people who do not act because of these. This is especially true when people are getting paid to do the work. Now if folks don’t know any better and don’t see that more and a better job can be done, well,,, we’re back to number 1.
I might be facing the end of my career and even be facing the end of my life on this green earth,,, but I’m coming to realize that we don’t have much time…. We certainly don’t have time to waste when we consider that some development plans can take a decade or more. So who do you want to be? Look deep inside and understand your core desires and then start on building a path towards excellence. j
jfstatman 
Steve: I must not be in the mainstream because I had to look up Negative Brainstorming on the web. I hope the few sites I scanned give me a valid view of the concept. I love inverting an argument so I get a novel view of the issues. This is an old trick that’s been used by philosophers for centuries. However, I don’t know if I’d have used the word “negative” as the moniker. We are charged with seeing reality and all of it; the good, the bad, and the ugly. The sooner we understand I intended consequences, the better our resolution of an issue. HOWEVER, the moment I smell someone giving me an excuse for not improving, I raise the red card and call the foul! There are 99 people who will tell me why we shouldn’t do something. I’ll listen to the singular encouraging voice.
Steve: Exactly. I love Ben Zander’s response to people who sit and don’t have “shining eyes.” What have I done to contribute to this dynamic? As well, the whole notion behind force field analysis is enabling and removing constraints to desired behavior. I have a blog in the works concerning positive and negative motivation. Stay tuned. I wrote notes over a year ago while working with a group of people where KITA (Kick in the Ass) was the primary stimulus. Whoa! Watch what happens now. People are very polite and know how to navigate through a social hierarchy. More in a bit. I’ll be slowing my posts because it’s “back to work day” today. Actually, yesterday was the first business day back in the office but we’ve had tons of snow and now it is bitterly frigid. It was -13F (-25C) when I awoke and the forecasted high for the day is in single digits.
Second thought…..
Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs. You could consider this approach to try to understand, the roadblock, and hence the enablers.
http://www.learning-theories.com/maslows-hierarchy-of-needs.html
(one of many sites on the subject)
This is a well trodden path of a theory.
I believe that the desire to do more / better is within us all, but not all have learned how to release it. I am not an expert, by any means, but I have learned to self assess. Recognition is one of the bolt on steps in 6-Sigma / (R)DMAIC.
Links nicely to your previous blog on “gap analysis” – Professional Development.
Note: Over here in UK, we seem to really get on well using negative brainstorming (think there is a new correct term for brainstorming – please help me).
It can be as useful as positive thoughts if used correctly and inverted / turned into enablers.
Jake,
Enjoyed the thinking that went with reading this blog.
A couple of thoughts from me.
Laziness – I find the presentation of laziness equally frustrating as you seem to, but I find it difficult to be frustrated by individuals presenting it.
I really cannot believe that the human psyche was set up to default to inactivity. This HAS to be the result of nurture not nature. We have learned to be lazy, and therefore we have to be able to un-learn it.
When I see it, in my kids, it is not a reflection on them, but a reflection on us as parents. We just don’t realise what we did, or how we taught them. We / I need to learn more and get better. I owe it to them and to the world they will influence.
That doesn’t make it easy though.