Hope against hope
You know how it is when you are wishing for the unlikely, the very "lucky" or the unheard of, or the fanciful? That is hope against hope. The one I am wishing for today is no seat mates, to have some space to sleep and stretch out my legs a bit on the flight to Bangkok. Like I said unlikely. The numbers are simply against you, the odds don't lend it a likely probability.
It is not just stupid, this hope, that would be doing something like playing the lottery, or driving the wrong way on the interstate and expecting to avoid an accident. But in this case, it is "low season" in Asia, meaning that is not the time of year when most people are heading that way for a holiday (nor am I), and so I may have a better than usual hope.
In work and life though, this is a poor way to plan, strategize and execute. It is far better to bank on reality, what is, what can be reasonably expected, what the current norms are for culture, or business, or whatever field you are working in these days.
My clients who most consistently produce something valuable, something beautiful, something innovative, are those most willing to face the music of real opportunities, or at least willing to work hard and make those opportunities happen. Hope against hope, no seat mate today . . . excellent, but it was just a hope, not a reality that I shaped and designed and work toward diligently. I will still take it though!
You know how it is when you are wishing for the unlikely, the very "lucky" or the unheard of, or the fanciful? That is hope against hope. The one I am wishing for today is no seat mates, to have some space to sleep and stretch out my legs a bit on the flight to Bangkok. Like I said unlikely. The numbers are simply against you, the odds don't lend it a likely probability.
It is not just stupid, this hope, that would be doing something like playing the lottery, or driving the wrong way on the interstate and expecting to avoid an accident. But in this case, it is "low season" in Asia, meaning that is not the time of year when most people are heading that way for a holiday (nor am I), and so I may have a better than usual hope.
In work and life though, this is a poor way to plan, strategize and execute. It is far better to bank on reality, what is, what can be reasonably expected, what the current norms are for culture, or business, or whatever field you are working in these days.
My clients who most consistently produce something valuable, something beautiful, something innovative, are those most willing to face the music of real opportunities, or at least willing to work hard and make those opportunities happen. Hope against hope, no seat mate today . . . excellent, but it was just a hope, not a reality that I shaped and designed and work toward diligently. I will still take it though!
