ENGAGING THOUGHT
By now we've firmly established that I'm far more Word-Nerd than I am Math-Geek. In fact, at the risk of offending all you Math-Geeks out there, I have to tell you that I often find mathematics annoying. What is it about math that drives me crazy? It's the inflexibility of it all. Math is what math is; the numbers may tell a "story" (I never got that one) but they tell the same story over and over: two plus two always equals four. How boring is that? I know, I know, if it weren't for the inflexibility of mathematics our airplanes wouldn't stay in the sky predictably and our bridges might or might not stay standing.
When it comes to evaluating our DREAM-pursuit it behooves us to take off our "flexibility" hat once in a while and do some cold, hard math. No creative interpretation of our results allowed; no excuses; no stories; no extenuating circumstances - just raw data and emotionless assessment. Where are we in terms of our strategy and plan? Where should we be by this point? Are we really and truly moving forward or are we stuck in a cycle of busy looking circles?
Are you ready for some more up-front reality? I would contend that the characteristic which makes the most difference between the DREAM-livers and the DREAM-wishers can be found right here in this area of evaluation. I don't believe the people whose DREAM-pursuit has turned into a DREAM-life have anything special that makes their DREAM more likely to come to fruition. I believe it is simply because they have fostered the ability to look closely at their progress and give themselves an honest, accurate assessment - then make the tough changes necessary. It isn't a question of how talented you are - it's more a question of how brutal you are.
Mathematics doesn't care in the least what your opinion of two plus two should be or how you feel about it. In the same way you should periodically evaluate your progress with the same brutal honesty. There is a time for understanding and accommodation, and there is a time for emotionless evaluation. Mind you, I'm not recommending that you evaluate your progress only in this way - just that you get good at using this type of assessment once in a while. There is more to life than cold, unfeeling math, after all.
When it comes to evaluating our DREAM-pursuit it behooves us to take off our "flexibility" hat once in a while and do some cold, hard math. No creative interpretation of our results allowed; no excuses; no stories; no extenuating circumstances - just raw data and emotionless assessment. Where are we in terms of our strategy and plan? Where should we be by this point? Are we really and truly moving forward or are we stuck in a cycle of busy looking circles?
Are you ready for some more up-front reality? I would contend that the characteristic which makes the most difference between the DREAM-livers and the DREAM-wishers can be found right here in this area of evaluation. I don't believe the people whose DREAM-pursuit has turned into a DREAM-life have anything special that makes their DREAM more likely to come to fruition. I believe it is simply because they have fostered the ability to look closely at their progress and give themselves an honest, accurate assessment - then make the tough changes necessary. It isn't a question of how talented you are - it's more a question of how brutal you are.
Mathematics doesn't care in the least what your opinion of two plus two should be or how you feel about it. In the same way you should periodically evaluate your progress with the same brutal honesty. There is a time for understanding and accommodation, and there is a time for emotionless evaluation. Mind you, I'm not recommending that you evaluate your progress only in this way - just that you get good at using this type of assessment once in a while. There is more to life than cold, unfeeling math, after all.
ACTION STEP
Today's ACTION STEP is still in keeping with the Evaluate phase of the 60 Days of Dreaming challenge - but it's different than yesterday's. Yesterday you got to be the Cheerleader, today I want you to be the unimpressed, super-critical statistician.
Flip through your DREAM-pursuit journal and remind yourself of some of the steps you've proposed and taken. Go back to the beginning and see what you wrote in the first few days. How much progress have you really made?
Go ahead and be a little bit cynical (a little bit - don't be a total jerk!). See if you can discount the progress or shoot holes in it. If you've made real progress you shouldn't be able to discount it very much.
Write down your conclusions about your progress. You might find it helpful to imagine you're giving a written report to some agency somewhere that tracks DREAM-pursuits. What would a report on your DREAM-pursuit look like?
Flip through your DREAM-pursuit journal and remind yourself of some of the steps you've proposed and taken. Go back to the beginning and see what you wrote in the first few days. How much progress have you really made?
Go ahead and be a little bit cynical (a little bit - don't be a total jerk!). See if you can discount the progress or shoot holes in it. If you've made real progress you shouldn't be able to discount it very much.
Write down your conclusions about your progress. You might find it helpful to imagine you're giving a written report to some agency somewhere that tracks DREAM-pursuits. What would a report on your DREAM-pursuit look like?
Tomorrow we'll check the corners to see if any unexpected results from our DREAM-pursuit are hiding.
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