UNFAZED + Shoulder Update
I read that a particular public figure is "unfazed by his own ignorance." The phrase struck me as a good one to remember because it says that the public figure is not going to learn. If he is unfazed by his ignorance, what would be his motive to eliminate the ignorance? And every problem requires recognition of it before we can solve it. If we are truly unfazed by a problem, if we don't recognize that there is a problem, we'll never solve it. And we all have our problems.
Please understand that I'm not arguing for submerging ourselves in our problems, for letting our problems get us down, for becoming obsessed with our problems. Please understand also that I define problems as those conditions which keep us from reaching our goals, not conditions identified by others as problems. In my way of thinking, we have to know what things are keeping us from reaching our goals, eliminate them and move forward. We won't achieve our goals if we can't or won't identify those things.
To achieve goals, there are obvious steps to be taken. The first is to identify the goal. It's always surprising to me how many people are unable to identify their goals. I think we all need some goal to keep us going, to focus our energy, to avoid drifting aimlessly through life. If we have no goals, life is a daily trial: We aren't comfortable because we're not progressing (by definition), the things we do are meaningless (again, by definition) and , we (often) fall into unhappiness about immaterial things, minor distractions and tiny inconveniences, because we're focused only on the moment. Again, we have to enjoy the moment but we need to have goals to get us over the bumps that are part of every life.
Once having identified our goal or goals, we need a plan to get there, a roadmap of our lives, a way to get there. Usually, the steps are pretty clear. We usually know what we have to do to achieve a goal. That doesn't mean it's easy. Depending on how ambitious we are, achieving a goal can be difficult, requiring years of constant effort. While I argue that the process is the most important thing, the process can be arduous, sometimes requiring everything we have, sometimes seeming to require more than we have. But I still argue that the goal determines the process and without a goal, no process is as valuable.
It's only when we know our goals and see the path to achieve them that problems emerge. Part of an intelligent plan is recognition of obstacles, identification of problems which may impede our progress. Once we see the obstacles, we can surmount them or go around them. Part of a successful plan is seeing when it's better to confront the problems head-on and when to bypass them. It's often easier to simply modify our plan to avoid the problem. But in all events, failure to identify the problems and include them in our plan means we're likely to run headlong into them, like running into a wall in the dark.
Identify your goals, form a plan, including obstacles to success. In that way, the process will be more satisfying and the chances of success will improve.
[I remain concerned about strength. I feel I have made great strides in flexibility, but I'm still weak. I drove to and from work every day last week without incident or concern. I've been able to lift really light things above my head so I'm moderately satisfied. My therapist showed me a new exercise device that I've been using regularly. I tested it on colleagues and they had as much trouble with multiple repetitions as I do so I felt I was making progress. I'm still focused on my July vacation when I need to be in perfect control of my shoulder. I'll keep you posted.]
4-8-02
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