Yesterday I was listening to a talk about Dr. Thayer and his hierarchy of "competence", which he defines, in short, as the never ending commitment to improving yourself.
In his definition and narrative - he concludes that "competence" is essential for "happiness". I am not sure that I am all the way there - but that is for another day.
He suggests that there are three levels of "competence". (His words - my elaborations)
Basic Competence - the ability to meet the basic, lowest level expectation
Mastery - the ability to meet the expectation consistently and with excellence across a wide variety of of different situations and scenarios.
Virtuosity - Performance at the highest level... because you are in a state of constant dissatisfaction with your performance, and you are "had" by your commitment to continue to improve your ability. (At the highest levels, these are the Michael Jordan's, the Steve Jobs, the Lebron James', the Ghandhi's, the Mother Theresa's,the Jack Ma's, the Elon Musk's, the Tom Brady's)
SIDE NOTE - It is so sad that I can think of more sport figures than anything else as I consider "competence"... I need to get more top of mind names that are scientists, philosophers, capitalists, authors... that are more top of mind.
So - I get the hierarchy and I kind of like it...
We were discussing the "status quo" in the conversation - and the gravity that it has over "change" and "transformation".
But the question came up -
I dont know if it was in my mind or in the conversation...
IS THERE JOY IN DISSATISFACTION?
That is THE question that I struggle with... HOW can I find joy in dissatisfaction.
That is the "magic" of harmony... or at least the "theoretical" magic.
If you are someone that stretches yourself, your team, your company... you are motivated by a dissatisfaction with the status quo.
And, being "dissatisfied" doesn't typically lead to a "joyful" state.
In the past days, I have actually felt less joy as I push myself and my organization to stretch beyond what is normal or comfortable.
The concept of harmony is to START with the IS, and then stretch into the WANT.
The "magic" I think can happen when you are owning your IS, your worth, all that you are, as you stretch into where you want to go...
But, I think it is SO easy, SO slippery when you push toward the want... not to slip into the WISH.
The harder you push yourself into who you want to be.... the more likely you are to WISH you were already there, WISH it wasn't so hard, WISH it didn't take so much energy...
It's a fine line... but a line that I find myself on the wrong side of, too often.
The line between stretching from your WANT into your WISH... is the very important line between harmony and disharmony.
Yours truly spends too much time on the wrong side of that line -
ESPECIALLY when I am pushing hard and deliberately for BETTER... for GROWTH...
JOYFUL VIRTUOSITY is what I aspire to...
JOY is what I aspire to...
and, dissatisfaction with the status quo is who I am...
Finding JOY in DISSATISFACTION is a skill that I must master to live a life of harmony...
It's a level of competence that I have not yet achieved.
And, these conversations are part of how I attempt to grow.
Are you dissatisfied with the status quo?
How do you find joy in the dissatisfaction?
Does/Can the concept of harmony provide an answer?
Thank you for being in the conversation,
Nestor