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Sometimes I Think Quantity Is Better Than Quality

You can create a perfect flower, or you can create millions of imperfect ones. What gets the job done better?

Quantity Tends To Get A Bad Rap

At least in my mind. Because I’m always going for quality. Going for the gold.

Going for gold is not a bad thing. But it has it’s disadvantages. For one, if the door to “gold” is closed, I can end up stuck banging my head against that closed door for a long time.

When I put all my focus into going deep with one thing, I can end up being blind to other options, other ways of getting there. I just know the gold is behind that door, and I keep knocking against all odds.

Sometimes It Works

Sometimes the door opens after persistent knocking. That’s what keeps me addicted to my gold-digging approach. It does work.

But I’m experimenting with another approach these days. The approach of knocking on a lot of doors. And simply going with the ones that open easily.

This is novel for a perfectionist like me. I know in theory, that any door should let me through. So I tend to pick the first door I come to and knock until my knuckles are raw. I don’t move to the next door until I’ve completely exhausted every approach for this door.

I guess you’d say I’m stubborn.

And I’m Stubborn When I Do The Work As Well

I know that I can use any stressful thought as a doorway for my self-inquiry. So I pick the first stressful thought that comes to mind and start to question it (usually Line 1 of my Judge-Your-Neighbor Worksheet).

But if I don’t break through on Line 1, I sometimes keep trying and trying with Line 1. Pushing actually. And that’s stressful. Exhausting.

What If I Went For Quantity Over Quality?

It would look like this: I start by questioning Line 1. But if I can’t find any good examples for the turnarounds, I move on to another stressful thought (on Line 2). And try that one the same way.

I only need one door to open for my stressful feeling to lift. So why does it have to come from the first stressful thought I work? Maybe it will be the fifth one, or twenty-fifth.

Who knows it might not even come from this worksheet at all. It might come from another worksheet I haven’t written yet.

That Doesn’t Mean I Can Be Superficial

If I’m too superficial, just waving my hand at a given door, then it probably won’t open either.

But this is about balance for me. If I’m too focused on going deep, I spend too much time working just one door. And I miss the other doors that might actually open more easily and lead me to the same place.

This Is True For Working With Clients Too

I’m playing with a little less stubborn approach to facilitating.

I’ll probably always be more of a quality person than a quantity person, but for me it feels like balance to do a bit more quantity work. It takes the pressure off of having to go deep on the very first concept we work.

Have a great weekend,
Todd

“The point is not to find the most turnarounds, but to find the ones that bring you the shift to self-realization, the enlightenment that sets you free from the nightmare you’re innocently attached to. Turn the original statement around any way you want to until you find the turnarounds that penetrate the most.” Byron Katie, Loving What Is

Byron Katie cartoon

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Todd Smith has been doing The Work of Byron Katie on an almost daily basis since 2007. He is just as excited about this simple process of self-inquiry today as he was when he first came across it. He also enjoys writing about The Work, and training others in the subtleties of this meditative process. Join Todd for The Work 101 online course, private sessions, virtual retreats, and his ongoing Inquiry Circle group.