When Nothing is Better Than Something
The expression, "Something is better than nothing," serves as good advice - most of the time. Today we look at when it is good advice - then when it isn't. As usual, we'll generally focus on our work life.
Maybe you're looking for a job right now. After much effort, an offer comes through. It's not exactly the position you were hoping to land, but the pay is pretty good, the commutes not too long and, well, you need a job to pay the bills. Something is better than nothing.
Sometimes you need to just do something. A simple example to which we might all relate: exercise. Most of us need to exercise. We work at desks; we're sedentary; and, of course, we all grow older day by day. Without some form of exercise, we'll lose mobility, agility, become doughy, weak, generally unhealthy - well, you know the drill. But if you haven't exercised at all, how and when do you begin? Should you take up jogging, running, go to a gym, buy dumbbells and work out at home, get a personal trainer? These days the options are endless. Just go on Youtube. You'll find thousands and thousands of videos about every conceivable form of exercise. In the end, though, it comes down to this: Do something. Even if you're that almost-lost cause who's overweight, arthritic, and has no energy, you can still go out for a walk. It's a start. Now for an example from work.
At work recently, we decided we needed a better handle on our operations. We're a small business, so we didn't have an "Operations Manual." But we realized we performed many different tasks - on a repeating basis, some occasionally repeating, some hardly ever. Things had gotten a bit chaotic. Every once in a while, something fell through the cracks; or we were late with some task that only came up every quarter or so. We also found that, for those especially complex tasks that were repeated only occasionally, a lot of time was wasted fumbling around trying to recall all the steps needed to successfully complete them on time. So we decided that, despite our small size, we needed that Operations Manual.
It was a challenging project, since we could find no outline or prototype for a small business Operations Manual. So we assigned the project to someone whom we knew was especially good at just doing something. Occasionally this individual might forge ahead with less thought and preparation than I might put into a task. But then again, since I tend to over-analyze things, I was concerned I might take months if not years to adequately "think things through." (It wouldn't be the first time!) And we needed this manual pronto. In addition, this fellow was dogged in his pursuit of his goals. So we gave him a free hand with some supervision. (And that supervision was designed to help not to hamper.) Needless to say, it took some time. But despite the complexity of the project, this man of action got the job done forthwith. He made mistakes at times, but wasn't afraid of doing so. He simply corrected them and got back on task. The results were more than satisfactory - in fact excellent. Bravo! We had our Operations Manual and it has served us as well, if not better, than we had hoped.
Even Our Lord occasionally would just do something. Really. Of course, most of His words and actions in the Gospel weren't spur of the moment. From the beginning of His public ministry, His eyes were set on Jerusalem and His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Indeed, from His first manifestation at His baptism by John in the Jordan, He initiated the greatest, most courageous, and most important plan ever conceived. And he executed it flawlessly. But along the way, He encountered situations that called for Him to just do something. The wedding feast at Cana comes to mind. Despite our Lord's objection that His time had not yet come, Our Lady tells the steward of the house to "do what He tells you to do." And, as you know, He just does it.
So just doing something works. But there are times when doing nothing works better. We'll look at these next time.
Maybe you're looking for a job right now. After much effort, an offer comes through. It's not exactly the position you were hoping to land, but the pay is pretty good, the commutes not too long and, well, you need a job to pay the bills. Something is better than nothing.
Sometimes you need to just do something. A simple example to which we might all relate: exercise. Most of us need to exercise. We work at desks; we're sedentary; and, of course, we all grow older day by day. Without some form of exercise, we'll lose mobility, agility, become doughy, weak, generally unhealthy - well, you know the drill. But if you haven't exercised at all, how and when do you begin? Should you take up jogging, running, go to a gym, buy dumbbells and work out at home, get a personal trainer? These days the options are endless. Just go on Youtube. You'll find thousands and thousands of videos about every conceivable form of exercise. In the end, though, it comes down to this: Do something. Even if you're that almost-lost cause who's overweight, arthritic, and has no energy, you can still go out for a walk. It's a start. Now for an example from work.
At work recently, we decided we needed a better handle on our operations. We're a small business, so we didn't have an "Operations Manual." But we realized we performed many different tasks - on a repeating basis, some occasionally repeating, some hardly ever. Things had gotten a bit chaotic. Every once in a while, something fell through the cracks; or we were late with some task that only came up every quarter or so. We also found that, for those especially complex tasks that were repeated only occasionally, a lot of time was wasted fumbling around trying to recall all the steps needed to successfully complete them on time. So we decided that, despite our small size, we needed that Operations Manual.
It was a challenging project, since we could find no outline or prototype for a small business Operations Manual. So we assigned the project to someone whom we knew was especially good at just doing something. Occasionally this individual might forge ahead with less thought and preparation than I might put into a task. But then again, since I tend to over-analyze things, I was concerned I might take months if not years to adequately "think things through." (It wouldn't be the first time!) And we needed this manual pronto. In addition, this fellow was dogged in his pursuit of his goals. So we gave him a free hand with some supervision. (And that supervision was designed to help not to hamper.) Needless to say, it took some time. But despite the complexity of the project, this man of action got the job done forthwith. He made mistakes at times, but wasn't afraid of doing so. He simply corrected them and got back on task. The results were more than satisfactory - in fact excellent. Bravo! We had our Operations Manual and it has served us as well, if not better, than we had hoped.
Even Our Lord occasionally would just do something. Really. Of course, most of His words and actions in the Gospel weren't spur of the moment. From the beginning of His public ministry, His eyes were set on Jerusalem and His Passion, Death, and Resurrection. Indeed, from His first manifestation at His baptism by John in the Jordan, He initiated the greatest, most courageous, and most important plan ever conceived. And he executed it flawlessly. But along the way, He encountered situations that called for Him to just do something. The wedding feast at Cana comes to mind. Despite our Lord's objection that His time had not yet come, Our Lady tells the steward of the house to "do what He tells you to do." And, as you know, He just does it.
So just doing something works. But there are times when doing nothing works better. We'll look at these next time.
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