Working Up

by Dwayne Phillips

Given any endeavor, their are circumstances beyond our control. These circumstances can keep us from achieving something. One thing that is always in our control is our own learning. We can all choose to learn.

I work hard. I work smart. There are days when I believe that I can achieve what I imagine all due to my hard and smart work.

The trouble with this “achieve anything” attitude is it isn’t true. There are a few billion other people on planet earth with me. They all have their own ideas on what should happen each day.

An example: I can drive around the Washington D.C. beltway in an hour. This is humanly possible. If I am on the road at the right time of day and the right day of the week, I can achieve this. My achievement, however, depends on a lot of other people cooperating. Perhaps they will, but perhaps they won’t. Circumstances beyond my control may stop me.

Ah, those circumstances beyond my control. They can be a real pest from time to time. They especially irritate me because of the last three words – they are beyond my control.

Okay, let’s go back to the first paragraph of this post. Let’s change the content of the second sentence to something like:

I can achieve what I imagine all due to my hard and smart work if all circumstances are under my control.

That is a little better, but where can I find a situation where all the circumstances are under my control? There is one thing that is always under my control: my ability to learn.

Maybe I can’t drive around the beltway in an hour. Maybe lots of other people are out there attempting the same thing at the same time. Maybe a few people are repairing the road. Maybe lots of other things occur to prevent me from achieving my goal. Still, I can learn.

There is one condition necessary for me learning: I have to choose to learn.

Well, there is one nice thing about this choosing to learn:

I can always choose to learn

I think that holds true for all of us. We can all choose to learn. No matter how disappointing the result of an event, we can all learn from it. What we learn can help us in the second attempt at the same goal. What we learn can help us with something else that is distant in time, geography, or field of endeavor.

Choose to learn.