“Don’t fall into the activity trap!”
That was the favorite exhortation of the best boss I ever had. We were a gung-ho group…working long hours, having a great time and getting a lot done. It wasn’t that he didn’t appreciate all we were doing…he was just warning us it wasn’t enough to be productive. If we didn’t keep our knowledge of our field up-to-date, we would be obsolete in a few years…no matter how much we accomplished.
I’ve been thinking of him a lot the past few weeks. Setting and achieving (more or less) my goal of revising my theme has been heady stuff..I can get addicted to goal achievement. But now it’s time to do the slow plodding of building a solid understanding WordPress and CSS (Cascading Style Sheets). That’s not a project that lends itself well to setting goals and deadlines. The subject is complicated enough that one learns by trying things, making mistakes and patiently figuring out what went wrong.
As I contemplate the information I want to assimilate, I’ve decided I could use a role model…and the sloth would be a great one. Sloths are patient creatures. A large part of their diet consists of hard-to-digest leaves, so they spend a lot of time chewing and digesting, chewing and digesting. That’s just what I need to do right now as I tackle my pile of hard-to-digest reading material. If sloths can do it, so can I.
What about you? What are you learning? Is it fun or is some of it hard to digest? Please share your thoughts in the comments section.
Thanks to Adebola, bikehikebabe, David, Darren and Shilpan for comments on last week’s post.
“If at first you don’t succeed, try, try again.”
I find it difficult not to have an end deadline, to work at something without knowing when I’ll be done. I admire your courage.
David,
It seems to me that’s where the power is. It also avoids a lot of frustration, because life doesn’t always cooperate with our plans. 🙂 I had trouble reaching my website yesterday, and I spent several hours trying to see where the problem was and what could be done. If I were overly goal-oriented, I would have been much more upset. As it was, it was a nuisance and a delay, but just part of the process.
PS Thanks for the kind words!
bikehikebabe,
You seem to be very motivated. How important is it for you to have an end deadline? I would guess you don’t rely on that. What do you do to keep motivated?
i remember that the sloth at the Detroit zoo was the happiest looking creature there! I think they are cool animals, happy and meditative….
As the saying goes, “first step is always the hardest”. Indeed learning something new and actually practicing it quite an experience. With time, you get “used” to it and then one wonders why it was so difficult in the first place.
Hi Jean, you’ve got lots of improvements in your site. Well done!
Seems that you’ve upgraded the WordPress as well. You’re using version 2.5 now? All the best with your learning process!
Robert
Darren,
I’ve never seen a sloth, but I sure do love that picture. Bless Mr. Sardonicus for letting me use it. Thanks for telling me they’re as great as I think they are. 🙂
Shamelle,
I tend to stretch myself a lot learning new things. So I’m very aware of why mastering new skills/knowledge is difficult.
Robert,
Glad you like the new look. I do too!
PS Yes, I’m using WordPress 2.5. I find some of the new features to be less useful than the old version…but maybe I just don’t know how to use them correctly. For instance, how do you edit a comment?
Jean,
When we do not attach expectations, we tend to immerse ourselves into whatever we undertake with moments of happiness. As David said, it takes courage to do that but ultimately a great satisfaction comes from within by having faith and patience to succeed.
Shilpan,
🙂 Amen to that! I couldn’t agree more.
LOL see what happens when you read the latest entry first and then work your way backwards in time? I just left a comment for the Embracing Obstacles post and I could have left the same comment for this post.
I’ll spare you that, though.
Excellent post, excellent wisdom. Thank you again for the teaching I recieve when I read your posts.
Traveler,
Thanks so much for coming by and taking the time to comment. I really appreciate it.
My stack of books is higher now, but most of them contain invaluable tidbits, so my understanding is gradually growing.
i so love sloths! and when they speak with a lisp i love them even more!
your sloth loving friend,
tammy j