Complexity is a useful way to “see” the world. Complexity is generally used to characterize something with many parts where those parts interact with each other in multiple ways,culminating in a higher order emerging that is greater than the sum of its parts.
A great example of complexity is a team of people. Many parts interacting in multiple ways
with the goal of the team to become greater than the sum of its parts (otherwise, there is no reason for the team). In the world of people and teams, “the world is made up of many shades of gray.”
One perspective on “seeing” complexity is to understand there is no universal right or wrong way to think about anything. While many people may agree with your way of thinking, that doesn’t make it universally applicable to all people. Some people believe that killing someone is always wrong, while others believe that it is the path to religious righteousness. Some believe it is permissible to kill someone who has done wrong to others in society or who is threatening others’ safety and well-being. How you think about an event determines how you feel about it. The guide to what is right or wrong for you personally is whether or not your actions lead you to feel better or worse about who you are and where you are going. Believing there is one right or wrong way to live leads to many kinds of difficulties, such as perfectionism, which can seriously impair progress toward your future.
It can stop you from taking action, because you fear doing something incorrectly. When you are working so hard to be perfect that it is keeping you from moving forward, it is because you are spending too much of your thought process on the thing you don’t want, which is “doing it wrong.”Move toward what you want, not away from what you don’t want. To get past this, redirect your thinking toward what you do want, which is to accomplish your task, and spend more of your thoughts on all the reasons you want to accomplish it.
It can stop you from taking action, because you fear doing something incorrectly. When you are working so hard to be perfect that it is keeping you from moving forward, it is because you are spending too much of your thought process on the thing you don’t want, which is “doing it wrong.”Move toward what you want, not away from what you don’t want. To get past this, redirect your thinking toward what you do want, which is to accomplish your task, and spend more of your thoughts on all the reasons you want to accomplish it.
- Remember, there is no such thing as perfect, and trying is the purpose of life.
- Success comes from trying, no matter how many times you fail.
- When you try, you open yourself up to the possibility of learning and experiencing something new, and give yourself the opportunity to create something different.
Failure is success in progress. –Albert Einstein
This quote is a great reminder to embrace the complexity of life.Onward and Upward,
Steve