Halfway or All the way....the choice is yours

What's the point of doing something if your intent is to give it less than your best? I mean really, what's the point of doing something halfway? It just seems to me that there are just two options for the way we can work. Either we do things well because we can, or we do them 'however'. I don't know that there's anything in between. Besides, I think it frustrates God. But that's just me.

I have friends who spend a lot of time angry about bad service and treatment. I certainly have been guilty of this myself, but I've recently decided to eschew anger. A lot of that anger is born of frustration at folk doing a half-assed job and that lackadaisical attitude coming back on those of us who value efficiency and competence. It can be hard to sit idly by and watch incompetence ruin a good thing, but then may be that is as it should be?

I've finally figured out that getting angry at others' incompetence or inefficiency assumes that you are more competent or efficient. Apart from the obvious arrogance of such an assumption, we should probably consider that we could actually be wrong. Perhaps we're equally as incompetent as those we have judged, but no one has had the courage to share that insight with us? This is entirely possible. Maybe it's unlikely (more arrogance) but it is a possibility that we should keep in mind. Besides, who are we to assume that our standards of efficiency should be binding on anyone other than ourselves? More arrogance. I've decided to get that under control. We may also want to consider that perhaps the person or persons we deem as incompetent are actually doing the best they can? If someone is doing their best, isn’t it inappropriate to fuss or fight at the level of service or skill they bring? It is, after all, their best.

And what if some folk aren’t doing their best? This is where a key learning is possible, I think. I’ve recently realized that some people don’t want to do better and they certainly don’t want to do their best. I would suggest that that’s a choice that individuals are free to make. Consciously or unconsciously, people look around at what’s out there and decide what they want for themselves. We who choose efficiency and competence need to accept that perhaps those who make a different choice do so because it works for them. I’ve decided that I shouldn’t be angry at someone if they make a choice to do things halfway (by my measure). Now if you make a choice that negatively impacts me, I will try to gently put you on notice that what you’re doing will harm me and how. At the same time though, I won’t bother to get angry. It’s a waste of my good energy and I’ve got things to do.....things that I mean to do well. That’s my choice and I can live with it.