Why it may be good to be confused: Mary Lo
Verde’s Motivational Discussion at Oracle by Olivia O'Connell
Last week, we were treated to a call with Mary
LoVerde, a renowned Life-Balance and Motivational Speaker. This was one of many
events organized by Oracle Women’s Leadership (OWL). Mary made some major changes to
her life when she decided to free herself of material positions and take each
day as it came. Her life balance strategies have led her from working with NASA
to appearing on Oprah.
Mary’s MO is “cold turkey is
better than dead duck!”, in other words, knowing when to quit. It is a
surprising concept that flies in the face of the “winners don’t quit” notion
and focuses on how we limit our capabilities and satisfaction levels by doing
something that we don’t feel passionately about.
Her
arguments about quitting were based on the conception that ‘“it” is in the way of you getting what
you really want’ and that ‘quitting makes things easier in the long run’. Of course, it is often difficult to quit, and
though we know that things would be better if we did quit certain negative
things in our lives, we are often ashamed to do so.
A second
topic centred on the perception of Confusion
Endurance. Confusion Endurance is
based around the idea that it is often good to not know exactly what you are
doing and that it is okay to admit you don’t know something when others ask you;
essentially, that humility can be a good thing. This concept was supposed to have to Leonardo
Da Vinci, because he apparently found liberation
in not knowing. Mary says, this allows us to “thrive in the tension of not knowing
to unleash our creative potential”
An anecdote about an interviewee at NASA was used to
portray how admitting you don’t know can be a positive thing. When NASA asked the candidate a question with
no obvious answer and he replied “I don’t know”, the candidate thought he had
failed the interview; actually, the interviewers were impressed with his
ability to admit he did not know. If the
interviewee had guessed the answer in a real-life situation, it could have cost
the lives of fellow astronauts.
The
highlight of the webinar for me? Mary told how she had a conversation with Capt. Chesley B. "Sully" Sullenberger
who recalled the US Airways Flight 1549 / Miracle on the Hudson
incident. After making its descent and finally coming to rest in the Hudson
after falling 3,060 feet in 90 seconds, Sully and his co-pilot both turned to
each other and said “well...that wasn’t as bad as we thought”. Confusion
Endurance at its finest!
Her
discussion certainly gave food for thought, although personally, I was inclined
to take some of it with a pinch of salt.
Mary Lo
Verde is the author of The Invitation, and
you can visit her website and view her other publications at www.maryloverde.com.
For details on the Professional Business Women of
California visit: http://www.pbwc.org/
