I told my friend the other day that he had a naive perspective. He pushed me for more and, this time, he actually wanted more. Oftentimes we mistakenly use the right words without the proper emotional preperation. We think we’re ready to “be built” by another but inside we’re still after affirmation. Information, not so much. It takes a strong CORE coupled with deep humility to widen ones perspective. And, once our eyes are wide open, it takes incredible discipline and patience to productively ACT on what we now see.
My friends naive perspective was a common one. He has gotten clarity around his OPUS. He no longer fears his leader, his father, or himself. He just wants to get after it and let the chips fall where they may. He has become calm where he was once anxious. He is learning to stand. He’s got a long way to go, but he’s up on his feet and ready to fight. And, here’s the messy part, he wants to give that same kinda clarity to another. He wants to tell them how to get there. He wants to give them his clarity and have them swallow it whole, as if simply digesting it from another will make it their own.
We all tend toward this kinda perspective when it comes to another, especially another that we love. We want them to take what we’ve built and make it their own, forgetting how hard we had to struggle ourselves when our builder jammed away on us. The curse of knowledge, according to the Heath Brothers, is common to all. Once we know something, we cannot remember what it was like to NOT. Funny, huh…
Today, remember that you are most likely coming at another with a naive perspective. You may have figured out your highway and there is certainly no harm in sharing it. Make sure that when you do, however, you use the words, “my way IS the highway.” And, remember, that the best highway isn’t the one that another hears you talking about; it’s the ONE that another sees you living out daily, weekly, monthly, and year after year after year.
Patience, my friend, is the proper perspective. We’ve all just gotten started, remember…
