Every now and again I end up berating myself – because I have dropped a cup, or (most recently) could not manage to change a lightbulb.
It’s a bit ridiculous isn’t it to beat yourself up because you drop your car keys? So what’s that all about?
I have realised over the years that one thing that really matters to me is competence. I guess that having spent a large part of my career being an expert, someone to whom others referred for my knowledge or expertise, has left its’ mark in my feeling pretty hacked off when I find myself unable to do something – especially when it is something that I can do but for some reason cannot do in that particular moment (like hold a cup or a set of keys!)
GeoffWorld requires competence, it requires that if I take something on I complete the job, it requires that once I take a job on I do it myself. This map of the world is limiting – the difficulty of asking for help, or being able to say “No, I can’t do that so please ask someone else”.
Knowing what you know, what you can do, is really important. By all means take something new on as a learning challenge but beware a tendency to take on anything thrown in your direction – it leads to overload, stress and ultimately poor performance.