“All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.” – Blaise Pascal
Experiment time – I sit quietly alone with no distractions, no computers, phones, books, etc. After five minutes I start to fidget for something to do. Five minutes?!
How often do you consider “nothing” as the ideal action? When you think about doing “nothing” what associations come to mind? Lazy, unsuccessful, stagnant?
Of course you do!
We are programmed to act, to make, to create, to decide, to lead, to manage, to plan, to evaluate, to analyze, to teach, to mentor, to perform, to contribute, to support, to consult . . .
To do nothing? Where is that in the list?
We can intellectually acknowledge the benefits of the Hippocratic Oath, “First do no harm.” Unfortunately, few of us have the emotional strength to admit that our best and most well intended efforts, can often make a situation worse.
Why? Ego before the organization? Maybe.
Do politicians brag about the laws they didn’t pass?
Do leaders brag about policies they didn’t implement?
Do architects brag about buildings they didn’t design?
When striving for performance, success, and recognition, we often, at our own peril, neglect nothing in the favor of anything.
“Something is better than nothing” . . . no it isn’t.
All I am saying, is give nothing a chance.
Footnote:
Some folks choose “nothing” because there is safety in “nothing” – blame rarely crawls into the dark caves of “nothing.”
This is a separate issue and will be addressed tomorrow.
