Today I realized that I was being unreasonable.

No matter what I may think, I can’t change the way that other people behave. Nor can I change their work output. I’m not the boss.

So instead of wailing and gnashing my teeth over the Absurdity Bubble that I’ve found myself in, I need to get real and deal with it head on.

No more headdesking over things that I think should be more rational.

No more internal crying over incoherent design that I think should be clearer.

That’s getting caught in the SHOULD, which is the absolute worst place to get caught.

SHOULD is automatically a losing proposition.

I need to stop thinking about myself, and my standards, and my own ego.

I need to instead start thinking about the people who actually have to use the product.

They are the ones at the mercy of the absurdity bubble.

I’m just a messenger. A facilitator. A translator.

It’s becoming increasingly clear to me that I won’t be able to impact the content of what I’m working on, but maybe I can tweak the design enough to help it become an actionable, useable thing.

My job is to make the unreasonable, reasonable. Or at least palatable.

A spoonful of sugar and all that.

So what did Mary Poppins do that was so effective?

  • Never explained herself.
  • Always had a few tricks up her sleeve.
  • Constantly amazed everyone around her.
  • Self-confident to the point of irrationality.
  • Occasional disappearances.
  • Bent reality to her will.
  • Always had fun.
  • Found friends in strange places.

Clearly, there are few greater role models than Mary Poppins. Disney aside, this is a lady I want to emulate.

Someday I’ll find a real role model. In the meantime, there’s fictional characters.

#goals