Really Doing Big Stuff

It's funny, the things you realize as you grow up.

I've had a lot going on lately. So much going on, in fact, that I don't have the time to mentally process everything. Events and thoughts get tossed on a pile in the corner of my brain, and when I get a chance, I'll dust them off, try to figure out what they are, and do something appropriate with them.

The interesting thing is that when certain events and thoughts get piled on each other, they combine and merge and turn into something that lurks in the pile until I come by to toss more on it. Then they leap out and grab me and insist that I notice. That's what happened over the past day or so.

Lately, at work, I've been thinking about procedures and processes that keep mistakes out of the final product. Things like reviews, tests, and traceability give everyone a safety net. That safety net is comforting at times, even if it does occasionally get all tangled up and slow things down.

The thing that jumped out of that pile and grabbed me was the realization that there really isn't a safety net. Not at work; not outside of work.

That means that the things I do matter. The things I do can affect the world.

No, seriously, that was my big realization.

The illusion of the safety net at work means that the things I do don't really matter. If I make a mistake, someone else will catch it so it can be fixed. If I don't work fast enough, someone else will pick up the slack. The work will get done, slowly but surely. So whether I work hard and well, or whether I read Slashdot all day, the effect is the same.

I think some of the incredibly productive people that have had a real effect on the world have not had a safety net separating themselves from affecting the world. People like Linus Torvalds or Warren Buffett or Ben Franklin did real things. They may not have intended to change the world, but they didn't wait for permission to do things. They did things.

The things I do matter. I can affect the world. But I can only do things that matter if I let myself. If I separate myself from the world by a mental safety net, I won't do things. If I ask permission from myself or from others to do things, I won't actually do things.

I'm off to bed now. But it's time to put this realization into action so that I don't have to change the name of this blog to "Eat, Sleep, and No Stuff".