Bring it On
Check out this statement by Rob Brezny:
“Is there anything more dangerous than getting up in the morning and having nothing to worry about, no problems to solve, no friction to heat you up? That state can be a threat to your health. If untreated, it incites an unconscious yearning for any old dumb trouble that might arouse some excitement” (Breszny, 2005).
How often I have observed this to be true at work. People would get into all kinds of drama that caused frustration and sadness to everyone involved, and when you tried to help them mediate it – or just stop it! – they resisted the help. It would become clear that the drama made them happy.
I have theorized that this same tendency causes people to watch reality TV. Absence of sufficient interest, tension, excitement, or engagement in one’s own life must be driving people to explore the messes other people make of theirs. I can’t come up with any other plausible explanation.
Brezny goes on to say, “Acquiring problems is a fundamental human need. It’s as crucial to your well-being as getting food, air, water, sleep, and love. You define yourself–indeed, you make yourself–through the riddles you attract and solve. The most creative people on the planet are those who frame the biggest, hardest questions and then gather the resources necessary to find the answers” (Breszny, 2005).
At my old company we always knew when the b-s was going to start. It would happen right after the holidays in the doldrums of January, and it would happen again in the middle of summer. We tried to stay on top of it by making sure there were clear objectives and projects to be done during those times, though I don’t think we ever mastered it.
Now I’m thinking that presenting the situation to work-groups in terms of Brezny’s quote above is the way to go. We should ask our teammates and our employees what problems they have acquired, which difficult, meaty questions they have posed to themselves, and whether or not they have assembled the resources necessary to solve them.
Wow. Not 20 minutes ago I was feeling overwhelmed by the number of things I had to do for my business today. Now I’m feeling like one of the most creative people on the planet. I’m sure glad I checked my horoscope.
Reference
Brezsny, R. (2005). Pronoia. San Rafael, California: Frog Ltd./Televisionary Publishing.
(c) 2007. Andrea M. Hill
