I was working with some words this morning …

It’s a weekly task where I take someone else’s thoughts, add a graphic, and make the package suitable for framing, or more correctly sharing online. Usually the words come from one person.

This week, the words came from a guest poster and I could immediately sense the difference. The flow was not as smooth, the phrases not as clear, and the overall impact was less.

My first thought: Well, this is not good. It’s not as good as usual. It’s not what I have come to expect.

My second thought: Well, this person is learning. They have not done this as much as the usual word-provider. This is how they will get better at doing it.

My conclusion: Sometimes we react from a position of assessment, where we are judging the worth of a thing against the yardstick of excellence, when we should be allowing for growth and learning.

This is a reinforcement that much of life is a process of learning and continual improvement. I’ll bet even the masters of word and image and thought had a few clunkers and missteps along the way to their greatest accomplishments.

So … I will send a few well-chosen words of positive and critical analysis to help the person do better next time, while I let go of the idea that everything has to be as good as possible every time.

Learning anew an old lesson about learning in the Heartland ….

John