rebeccmeister | Comforts

One of the absolute best parts of my current job has been the opportunity to work with our collaborator. He's one of those people who will tell you he's not particularly smart, but then he turns around and has keen insights and provides helpful, focused feedback on multiple fronts. I suspect that he feels that it's necessary to declare up front that smarts haven't gotten him where he is because a lot of people probably declare to him that he's smart. But really, a key attribute that makes many people successful is NOT smarts* (and oh, let's not get into the subject of how differently people attribute the successes of men vs. women). A willingness to be stupidly and stubbornly persistent can really, really help, as can an ability to work hard (ugh, I'm not doing well on that front lately), and knowing when and how to ask for help. Also good social skills (yes, it IS all about relationships), and the ability to respond thoughtfully.

When I interact with someone like him, I start to think, yes, there are ways to not just survive, but to have a huge positive impact on the lives of others. We human beings still have a lot to learn about how to be good humans, and yet we have also come a long, long ways.

Let's remember that, now and again, especially when we start to feel beaten down by world events or personal events. Forge on.

*I think I might have already written about this sometime in the past six months, but I can't seem to dredge up the post. Sigh.