The Darkside Of Competence
Fulfilment Deficit, Thought Versus Feeling, Only You Know
"Competence can be a devilish curse." - Marcus BuckinghamPrelude
Prelude inspired by the postlude.
Curious
Fulfilment deficit:
Competence doesn’t guarantee fulfilment.
Where you are good at what you do but have little to no curiosity, a fulfilment deficit will be experienced.
The same observation can be made on activities where you are curious but lack competency. That said, anyone possessing an inherent thirst for an activity will build competency; whereas you either have curiosity for an activity or you don’t.
Curiosity is innate. Competence is developed.
Conscious
Thought versus feeling:
Why do countless people work jobs they are good at but feel empty in them? There are several answers, but in my direct experience, a common reason revolves around ‘doing what I thought I should do, not what I felt I should do’.
Thought is conditioned. Feeling is instinctual.
You can be conditioned to think you should follow a path based on what you’re good at, but you can’t be conditioned to love it.
Being good at something doesn’t always equate to feeling good. Following a path solely based on competence can leave you soulless if the work is without love and enjoyment. I’ve witnessed this in the workplace and observed it within myself. Spending a large portion of your time in loveless work, has harmful downstream effects on other important parts of your life, like health and relationships.
Your wellbeing matters too much to waste your time doing loveless work.
Change
Only you know:
I’m not suggesting 'do what you’re good at’ is awful advice. Developing competency can lead to mastery and, in turn, love for what you do. You also don’t have to love every part of your work. Still, I feel there is a better alternative than competency when guiding education and work choices.
That guide is self-expression, and the answers lie within you. Authenticity, instinct, passion, energy, curiosity, joy, freedom, creativity, and love are synonymous with self-expression and are inspiring indicators of a path worth pursuing.
Exploring and understanding what tasks, topics, and activities feel like an expression of who you are, opens up avenues for work and education; whereas competency alone narrows your options.
Nobody can condition or influence what feels true to you; only you know.
LVN Stories
LVN (livin’): described as a feeling of aliveness, freedom, fulfilment, or joy.
See the full collection here.
Postlude
Some light humour to wrap up this edition.
Live Free,
Niall
The idea of following competency into loveless work is striking. Sometimes, it might also be an expected competency hoisted on us by those we love.
Being properly attuned to what feels right, and not what we seem good at, is a skill to learn. Alongside it are the realities of life and money that influence us. It becomes a tough maze to escape.
Thank you for sharing my story Niall! I really liked this post.
It can be tricky when there was a time when you were still growing and finding fulfillment in a job or activity you were good at, but then reached a point where you'd harvested all the fulfillment you could from that line of work. It can take some brutal self-honesty to realize and accept that you've really outgrown it. But then it is an acknowledgment that you have, in fact, grown, rather than thinking that you just burned out.