BWW Blog: Micah Young - Ease On Down Your Road

There are a million reasons not to do something. Going to the audition seems overwhelming: you're tired, there's subway traffic. It's raining out. Practicing that song, or writing that scene just seems like too much work. But beyond the reasons you can find for yourself to not take action, there are a multitude of 'nay-sayers' in life, who casually if not directly, say "don't."

I had a conversation about this with a colleague; I was mystified by people who do not follow through on projects or appointments. I appreciated my colleague's point of view which simply was that some people are not in the headspace to engage with on a specific project. It can also be intimidating to some people when you are making strides in your area of work; saying you're going to accomplish a goal, and then accomplish it is startling to people. We sometimes compare ourselves to other people's successes, only to come up short.

I've made the mistake of thinking we all want the same thing. I've also been (and am) guilty of procrastinating on my own goals, because of someone else moving ahead with theirs. So while I get mystified by people I think are not following through, or not responding to work (and personal) related matters in the timely fashion I have articulated in my head, they may simply be on another path in life.

As overly-simplistic as that sounds, until we can read each others' thoughts (Lord, help us), it's a better view, I think, to accept that people are on different paths, not that they are not connecting to us and our work the way we want them to. And when we focus on the collaborations and relationships that do not go as planned, they can very easily and very quickly become the excuse for our own stagnation.