Most people are familiar with the saying, the end justifies the means. It's generally applied in situations where a positive conclusion is achieved despite the use of tactics that may be seen as less than "honorable". The implication is that doing ultimate good is more important than exactly how it was accomplished. However, there is a fine line there. It can certainly can be argued that HOW we perceive a positive result IS affected by the means with which we used to achieve it. You would do ANYTHING but, perhaps, compromise, to achieve your goal.
With this in mind, I'd like to introduce a new word to the American lexicon: Accomplomise. Let's describe it as a "kinder, gentler" way of getting to the same point. I came about it quite by accident. I was trying to make a point with my wife, Cat, about how important it was to me to simply get shit done! People waste too much time by digging in their heels about things that are just not that important. Sure, we should never compromise our core principals but everything else is negotiable. Life is way to short to be haggling over crap that, in the bigger picture, means so little. As is usually the case, I was getting way to worked-up and was starting to babble. At some point, my brain is just moving way too fast for my tongue. When this happens, my body seems to have this "defense mechanism" which allows my speech to catch up with my head by simply combining words that have never been done so before. This is one example. I meant to say that,we can only accomplish things through compromise when that got condensed into we need to accomplomise. After Cat pointed out my blunder and we both had a brief chuckle over it, I began to rephrase my statement. Cat stopped me and said, No. Why don't you use it just like that. In a way, it really makes sense. And I listened to her (I ALWAYS listen to my wife LOL LOL LOL). I've been using it ever since because it DOES make sense.
This term could certainly be used to address what's happening in this country today. Unfortunately, we have become so fractured and so intractable that no one seems to be willing to give anything up to anybody. How can we ACCOMPLISH anything if no one is willing to give as well as take? And this is happening with issues from the greatest to the smallest. Our politics are rife with this attitude. All it ultimately leads to is paralysis - which is pretty much where we stand today.
Because we are all individuals, we all have a point of view. It's reasonable to have that point of view reflect what's best for you. However, in order to succeed , to move forward, we must be wiling to look beyond ourselves, beyond our own POV, and accept those of others. This is only done through compromise. And, if we wish to accomplish anything with our lives and truly move forward, it's the only way. ACCOMPLOMISE.
No comments:
Post a Comment