Wind-Up Key

Nine-year old Sam recently asked his father, "Daddy, how can we make a stuffed animal come to life?" His father pondered..., and decided yep, it's a good question. A favorite toy yet stagnant and non-producing. The production of play is in the mind and action of Sam, not the stuffed animal itself. Sam must move the toy where it needs to be and set it into the amusement in order to make the play work.

I can remember a favorite teddy bear I named Fluffy. He didn't do much, just sat on my bed. And I recall countless headless (and otherwise) Barbies and paper dolls that required my imagination and accessories in order to work. A toy's job is to play, so play is its occupation, so to speak.

It is very easy to become stagnant in our jobs. To sit mindlessly at our desks, pounding away at a keyboard or surfing the net, smiling and dialing, or uploading and downloading... But what is being produced? How truly labor-intensive do you make your day?

It is, unfortunately, not play that is required to gear up for your day. Do you sometimes wish you had a wind-up key at your base to help you somehow make it to five o'clock before completely winding down? Rarely does my work day end at 5pm. So if you are like me, making it to midnight is about right - which becomes a more arduous task than one would typically like to think about.

Like a stuffed animal, there are those that require a significant amount of engagement in order to work. Then there are those that are self-winding and self-finding. Their intrinsic motivation is intensive and undeniable. Where is your intent, where is your purpose? Are you a stuffed animal that your clients or employer wish they could make come to life? Are you a headless Barbie with no self-direction or a paper doll, flat in purpose? If so, that is unfortunate for I am certain Sam would not approve.

by rayannethorn

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Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on August 19, 2009 at 7:15am

Some people are and some people aren't.

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Permalink Reply by Maureen Sharib on August 19, 2009 at 12:35pm

"...there are those that are self-winding and self-finding."

Some are/some aren't. I suspect more aren't. Sorry to sound so vague.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Patrick Chuna on August 19, 2009 at 5:27pm

Amen, Sandra..

Sandra McCartt said:

Or being self employed in your own business. Nothing like having your name on the front of the check, the bank note, the lease, the contracts and having to make it happen to motivate one. Starvation or success is a great wind up key.

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Permalink Reply by Thomas Patrick Chuna on August 19, 2009 at 5:52pm

rayanne -

I cringed when I read the part in your post about people "requiring a significant amount of engagement to work"

too many memories of co workers, bosses, family members, ex girlfriends, and other significant time wasters of my life.

I like to believe in the best of everyone, and their potential, but some folks are never going to be anything more than deadweight. How they got there is immaterial, unless they're committed to changing their lives and circumstances..but being a deadweight is easy, so why change?

I know people who, no matter how much you coddle them, reassure them, hold their hand, or outright threaten them, they won't move off dead center.. oh, they'll complain about how unfulfilling their lives are, and how they would only flourish if they were treated better, or had some other boss or opportunity, but they'll screw that up too because they only move when they want to.

Rayanne said:

Some people are and some people aren't what? Mindless, unmotivated, and lacking purpose? I disagree ... I think everyone could be that way, but I do not believe that people just are that way or born that way. They may just need a coach or better parents or better opportunities or the right opportunities...

Being in a job you enjoy can make all the difference int he world. So can simply doing your job.