On the Occasional Merits of "OK-ness"

For some reason, I keep thinking about a bumper sticker I once saw, which had an expressionless smiley icon and the words "have an average day!"

Yes, it was definitely meant to be funny but sometimes I can't help but wonder whether we're all being put under excessive pressure of expectations to always have a "nice" day.

Similarly, we strive for excellence, but the truth is that most things are actually pretty average and ordinary. Sometimes I am really grateful for that ordinary-ness, because it means no great calamities happened; it was an OK sort of day.

If you think about it — from a purely logical perspective — we can't all be leaders. That simply wouldn't work; we have to have those who are the dedicated "worker bees."

It was one of my first culture shocks when I arrived in the US from Denmark, way back when... what felt like an almost obsession with leadership. Perhaps it was one of the reasons I was a poor fit for American college culture.

My relatively lack of interest in leadership followed me through most of my earlier work life; when I was in the IT industry I was often pushed towards managerial positions... which I would turn down because I just wanted to be a really good technical writer, not a people wrangler.

In some ways, it was what ended up pushing me towards self employment... I just didn't want to be in management so working for myself just made more sense... less pressure to advance.

Maybe I am content with a less aggressive approach to life because ambition was never my strongest suit. Mostly, I just wanted to be left alone to do my own thing... not something that suits most workplaces.

"What kind of job would you feel best suited you?"

I always replied that I'd like the kind where you hand me some chaotic mess, lock me in a room for a week, slide food and drink under the door and then come back and check on me and everything would be in great order.

Again, not the sort of job you encounter very often... hence I remain self-employed after all this time. And that's a good thing, as I get to keep my own pace.

Thanks for stopping by, and have a great remainder of your week!

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Created at 2024.12.04 02:18 PST
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