Trigger Question #88:
As we age, we collect experiences. Until we reach the smug summit of “been there, done that.” That’s when each new experience feels like the same old experience, repeating. Every experience becomes tame and tedious. And, dare I say it, boring!
The closer you get to Smug Summit, the less you pay attention. At work, you pay less attention in the next boring meeting, to the next boring report, to the next boring employee, to the next boring boss, to the next boring strategy offsite, to the next boring performance appraisal, to the next… Am I boring you yet?
The urge to climb Smug Summit, to trumpet “been there, done that!”, is so common it’s almost natural. That’s the bad news. The good news is that there is a name for this condition. As with any condition, once we can name it, we can suppress it, if not conquer it.
The condition that spurs us to Smug Summit is called Presbyopia. It causes a loss of near-focusing ability because of age. Which is why it is also called “old eyes.”
My guess is you paid less attention during that meeting because you were looking at it through “old eyes.” You skimmed that report because you were reading it with “old eyes.” You brushed off your employee because you saw her through “old eyes.” Ditto for the rest.
Can you overcome “old eyes” and pay more attention while at work? Yes. If you choose to. Many of us cannot completely side-step presbyopia as we age. But all of us can decide not to view our world through “old eyes.”
Here’s why you have a choice.
As we get older and gather experiences, one of two things happens. We view new experiences as mere variations on an old theme, because we miss crucial nuances. Or we view them as same-old-same-olds. And then jump inelegantly to obsolete conclusions.
Actually, now that I consider these two outcomes through newer eyes, they seem rather similar. In the one case, we don’t engage out of apathy. In the other, we don’t connect out of arrogance.
In both cases, we fail to ask more questions; we fail to dig deeper; we fail to uncover what lurks beneath. We fail to wake up.
But at the root of our failing? Old eyes.
How can you fix old eyes? You can have surgery or simply wear corrective spectacles. And how do you fix Smug Summit? I could suggest that you climb down and join us by being mindful here in the present. But ‘mindful’ and ‘present’ have become loaded concepts because of misuse and overuse, even at work.
Instead, I suggest you turn Smug Summit into Sage Summit. Be attentive and wait patiently, but quietly, for opportune moments to share gently your old eyes experience with those who are unsure of what they see for the first time.
I assure you, watching out for meaningful sage moments will keep you occupied and awake in the present. And away from Smug Summit.
Welcome to my side of the nonsense divide.
. . .