Something Questioned Something New

Happy Monday Everyone!



Time for a thought provoking question from:

50 Questions that Will Free Your Mind

(from here)



Week 10: Are you more worried about doing things right, or doing the right things?



Ok, I have to admit. I didn't understand this question. It just didn't make sense to me. I feel like somebody just took the words "doing", "right", and "things" and mixed them around to make a pith little question. I feel like Ben Stiller in "Mystery Men" in this scene:







Mr. Furious: Am I the only one who finds these sayings a bit formulaic? "If you want to push something down, you have to pull it up. If you want to go left, then you have to go right. It's..."

The Sphinx: Your temper is very quick, my friend. But until you learn to master your rage..."

Mr. Furious: Your rage will become your master? That's what you were going to say. Right? Right?"

The Sphinx: Not necessarily.

(I was going to put in a clip for everyone's viewing pleasure, but something about copyright violation and blah, blah, blah)

(Don't sue me for copyright violation, Ben Stiller)

Anyway, I had a vision of a bunch of pierced, tattooed people sitting around a tiny New York apartment with their soul patches and their berets, surrounded by Chinese takeout, wine bottles, and joints: "C'mon, people! 50 Questions! We are all intelligent here. Don't tell me we can't come up with 50 questions to free your mind!"



I mean, generally, aren't the people who are worried about doing things right the SAME people who are doing the right things? I figure, there are lots of people out there who don't give a rat's patootie about either of these things. And lots who care about both. But how many care about only one or the other?



However, I don't think the intent of the question is to get me all snippity and self righteous.



So, for arguments sake, let's assume that I'm trapped in a world where quality and values are mutually exclusive; I have to choose to either worry about doing things right or doing the right things. And....



I'm going to choose doing the right things. For a number of reasons.

Firstly, doing a good job on something for the completely wrong reason is rather counterproductive and unfulfilling. It's really no way to go about your life. I know. I've done it in the past. It leaves you as an empty shell of a person.

Also, because sometimes people (like me) use the excuse of doing things perfectly as an excuse to stay stuck. If this isn't done RIGHT (to some impossible standard of right-ness) then it isn't done. Do you know how long you can stay working on and picking at and re-hashing a simple job? A LONG time. Time that could be better spent doing more important things.

Sometimes, it's better to adhere to the school of "good enough". (I believe Jack Black runs that school in the sequal to "School of Rock") The job may not be done perfectly, but SOMETHING is done. And often, something is better than nothing.



However, in the real world, often doing a good job for the right reasons is the ultimate goal. Isn't it?





Today's New Thing:

I tried some raw food. Not like, carrot sticks. But from the whole "Raw Food" line of thinking. I have to admit, the whole raw food thing never made sense to me. But I tried out a recipe and damn! Is it good! I stand corrected.