The Work, Not The Idea of It

Photo by Florian Klauer on Unsplash

The fact of the matter is that my most productive periods have come when I’ve been immersed in my work and not the idea of it. 

What does that mean?

It means that when I’ve simply committed to the work - the how it’s being done, the reasons things may not be moving as planned, the ways to continually improve and become more effective in delivering it - I’ve been able to do it well and get it to where it needs to be. 

My state of mind in these periods has been focused exclusively on the content, so to speak, and not at all on the ’ego’ behind it. 

But when I’ve been more concerned with the perception of the work - how it will be received and perceived, how I'll come across in the delivery of it - then the content (and my ability to deliver it) is almost always compromised. I’m more consumed by the idea of it than the work itself. 

The point is that when we let go of all of the trappings around the work and focus on the work itself, we succeed. 

It’s something that comes natural to us as kids. When we’re young, we just do. Until someone tells us otherwise. As we get older, we become more caught up in things outside of ourselves. The ideas around it, rather than the idea itself. 

That’s the real battle - not getting swallowed up by that conditioning, that nonsense. I think maybe it has to do with aspects of society or our environment. I’m almost all cases, it ultimately boils down to our ego. 

That’s the part we need to work on.