The New Personal Improvement Credo — And What’s Wrong With It

There’s a work imperative out there that’s built up a head of steam in articles and books, and it goes something like this:

“Chart your course and go for it. Push ahead. Keep doing what you believe is right. Dedicate yourself to “doing the reps.” Put in your 10,000 hours. Ignore set-backs and distractions. The results will come eventually. Just keep going.”

It’s hard to argue with the proposition that it usually takes persistence and determination to be successful. But the attitude that says “Just keep doing what you’re doing and you’ll eventually succeed” is often just plain wrong.

The danger is that you can get so involved with pushing headlong on your chosen path that you miss important events happening around you.

Here’s the thing: Maybe the environment — or your own place in it — has changed so that what you’re doing isn’t really the way to get you where you want to go. Or, maybe it’s not the place you really want to go!

After all, haven’t the same people exhorting you to keep your head down been talking about the rapid rate of change since the Reagan administration?

And think about what this new ethic communicates to others and to yourself:

“Here I come. Get out of my way. If you can’t help me, don’t hold me back. I’ve got my mind made up. My sights are set on what I want.”

What are some of the negative consequences that can follow from this approach?

• It dampens your natural curiosity to new and potentially relevant information and developments appearing moment by moment.
• It discourages others from bringing new information to your attention.
• It makes you so invested in a single course of action that you become reluctant to alter or abandon it.
• It monopolizes your time and energy perfecting skills that may no longer be appropriate, robbing you of resources you will need to develop other skills needed for a revised course of action.
• It can damage your relationships with others if your persistence and determination morphs into something that looks more like obsession, and can cause others to feel you see them primarily as “resources” to help you achieve your goals.
• It can make you less sensitive to the fact that on your journey there will be times when YOU’RE the one who’s in a supporting role, needed by others you care about to achieve their own goals.

By all means, stay focused and be persistent in going for what you think you want. But recognize that things change fast. Don’t get so focused on the goals you set yesterday and sharpening the skills you decided you needed that you miss important cues that might cause you change where you’re going and the tools you’ll need to get there.