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Become cynical? What keeps me straight ...

Thursday, December 8, 2011. When we look at the trouble and mess we are facing day by day in our business and politics and social environment, we might well become cynical. There are so many things which can completely frustrate our motivation and internal setup.

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Become cynical? …

When we look into our business environment, there are many reasons why you might become cynical. You might have put efforts into your company for quite a while. You have been reliable, hard working, competent. But you are only a programmer in a large unit, … and every second year a new young manager comes and takes over and tries to squeeze out all he can get - just to go and progress in his career and another you manager comes to try the same. There is no long-term development, just people who try to make the most out of it within 12 month … so the workers have no other choice than becoming resistant, cynical and ignorant to the continuous squeeze and reduction of substance.

When you work in a large public institution, there are many reasons to become cynical. You try to set up proper structures and do your work efficiently, but the rules which are set by an interaction of politicians, business leaders and unions are often full of absurd and counter-intuitive parts. They are arising from strong negotiations between conflict parties, not from smart managers who know the whole process down to its various parts which need to work efficiently. Why put effort in, if you are only a little tiny part of a big machine which to a good part is just destructive.

If you are a young scientist, the structures can be quite difficult. You are moving from temporary position to temporary position. You might have ideas, you are creative. But your realize that the main point of older colleagues is not necessarily to pic up ideas of others, they mainly want to promote their own ideas (what else should they do, the system is pushing them into that direction anyway). You might well give up soon, and I know many who gave up, even though they have been well gifted. You need a patience which is beyond what humans usually have …!

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What keeps me straight …

You need to have a source of motivation which keeps your head up. Then you can succeed even if some structures are suboptimal. You need to have a place to rest and gain new strength. You need to have a home which is not completely dependent on your business environment and your work environment!

For me personally, this resting place has been prayer and silence with the Lord over the bast 15 years. When ever I had these times of silence, I felt completely refreshed afterwards. In the times of prayer I was able to sort my priorities, to think about activities and goals and the content of my work. When ever I pray for the people I am in touch with, I think there are many doors opening, new possibilities arising, … it is fantastic!

Of course, structures might be difficult. But I believe in the possibilities of the living God, who could even lead people through the deep waters of a sea. There are many possibilities which we might not see in a particular situation, and we just need to patiently work towards sustainable goals, and they will turn up! My life is full of these little wonders, where new possibilities open almost every day here or there … (Roland Potthast) ... more texts

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