Current Contemplation: Reflection on Achievement

"...we get so engrossed in our work that we often forget to appreciate the experience. We also tend to be highly critical of ourselves. When we finish a project or an episode of GMM, we're usually thinking, We'll get it right next time. This leads to us living in a constant state of anticipation, always looking to the next opportunity to do something well. It goes without saying that this is not a particularly Mythical way to approach life. One of the key tenets of Mythicality is bringing more good into the world, and that involves a willingness to direct some goodwill toward yourself. We're not talking about gloating about your accomplishments, but rather recognizing that it's perfectly OK - and even recommended - to take time to reflect on a personal achievement. Ironically, pausing to reflect on something you're proud of is a great way to develop a sense of humility. For instance, when we stop to think about another season of Good Mythical Morning wrapping, we're struck by all the amazing people who enable us to pull off this work. That fills us with a deep gratitude." --Rhett & Link's Book of Mythicality: A Field Guide to Curiosity, Creativity, and Tomfoolery

Today Rhett and Link came out with their wonderful Book of Mythicality.   I particularly loved Link's description of the book in today's GMM episode when he described it as, "...a fresh, fun take on creativity as told through the lens of friendship."  In fact, it was this description that made me go to three different bookstores to find it.

I can honestly say it was a pleasure to read.  Although I enjoyed The Amazing Book is Not on Fire, it felt more like a trendy Instagram feed rather than a book.  Rhett and Link's 15+ years on Dan and Phil certainly show, as their book is more than just "their story".  It's a book that's also written to give you, the Mythical Beast, life lessons from their own lives.  It's a delightful perusal - filled with enough pictures and humour for the youth, while also offering solid, anecdotal text for the old.

That aside, the opening quotation was easily my favourite text from the book.  It made me ponder accomplishments I didn't take time to celebrate in my own life, and I came to some interesting conclusions from such introspection.

Firstly, Rhett and Link also note in the text (not transcribed) that they didn't mention landmarks such as their marriages or the birth of their children.  I appreciated that because I think that for those moments that "truly matter" we are pretty good at remembering to pause and celebrate them.  For instance in my family "Gotcha Day" in August is meant to commemorate the day that my mom adopted me and when my sister came into our family.  We always take a moment to remember the special date - even if it's just an Instagram post.

But in America we put more of our self-worth in our career.  Whether or not we like to admit it, we are more willing to share the details of a divorce than admit that we got fired from a job.  For some reason, personal failure is something to be commiserated with, a thing to seek help and support from friends and family, but professional failure is something that we stay silent on.  We will never admit being passed over for that promotion or being rejected from that job - and God forbid that someone asks what our yearly salary is.  I know I have discussed this before, but I think it bears repeating to emphasize my point: professional accomplishments are never celebrated.

Specifically, of course, when I say "celebrated" I mean the term in the sense that Rhett and Link discussed in the opening quote.  A moment for us to stop, breathe in and out, and be proud of what we have accomplished in such a fashion that it furthers our humility.  I may be proud of my family, but I am rarely "proud" of myself.  Here, "proud" refers to a sense of modesty and humility that our modern culture instils in us - that of remaining silent or to undersell our accomplishments - along with a lack of self-confidence.

Some articles I've read mark both of these things as being more characteristic of women (ie less likely to take a sense of ownership over one's accomplishments and instead attribute success to another/team effort), but I think there is more to the picture.  Like Rhett and Link mentioned, in America we often do not take time to stop and reflect - to spend time with only oneself to meditate on our actions and take responsibility for our actions, our value systems, etc.  - and our accomplishments are just one part of this larger picture.  Therefore, I want to take more time for self-reflection for my professional (and personal) achievements - and celebrate them appropriately.

Secondly, I have come to ponder the relation between humility, introspection, and celebration.  I'm still trying to figure it out, but at first glance, I propose that proper celebration of an accomplishment (ie a premiere to celebrate finishing my senior thesis) truly does engender proper humility.  By valuing the amount of hard work, dedication, etc. that we put into something via a celebration, the appropriate response of introspection occurs - ie how was I able to do X, who was responsible for Y, etc.  Therefore our natural conclusion of a team effort - along with our own - inspires us to embrace the proper stance of humility.  I know I still need to define these terms and do a better job at parsing out the relationship, but this is my first brush hypothesis to the intriguing claim Rhett and Link put forth.

And finally, this quote made me remember what my mom mentioned during a phone call a few days ago.  I was venting my frustration to her and sense of existential dread that I would never get out of the restaurant industry.  My entire self-worth was wrapped up in working in my field, and I was impatient to make friends, find a proper job, and generally "start my life" here in New York.  However, my mom mentioned to me that moving across the country on my own was a big accomplishment.  I was already living my life - there was no need for me to "wait" for it to "start", and that I was impatient - like Rhett and Link I all too often find myself asking "what next" rather than living in the moment (not in a #YOLO sense, but in a true sense of wonder and joy that the present can afford).

Despite spending a lot of time in introspection about my move, so much of it has been wondering WHAT COMES NEXT rather than celebrating or taking the time to consider what I have done (with the help of numerous individuals, not to mention, of course, the love of Christ and God's Excellent Will).  It also reminded me of a Torrey session in which something finally made sense to me - Jesus is a God for NOW as well as THEN and LATER.  Too often I think Christians and Christian culture get wrapped up in considering the "heavenly treasures".  By this I refer to the fact that any sort of suffering or temptation we endure here will be paid back "later" - it's the whole "to die is gain" mentality.  However, I think we fail to emphasise the "to live is Christ" portion of the verse.  Specifically considering the words in the sense that Christ is also a God of the Present and not just the future.  There are immediate gains to being a Follower of Christ, and the benefits of salvation aren't just for the "after death" bit - especially because to live in the present is to be like Him (who we are called to emulate).

So all of that to say, I want to be better at taking the time to stop and reflect on my achievement in such a way that humility springs forth.  Also, go and check out Rhett and Link's book (because it's pretty great).