Incompetence
So as is clearly obvious, i have been messing with the look of my blog. I was getting bored and i decided it was time for a girl to move on and make some changes...So here i am..attempting...
So to blog skins i went..looking or something inspired to say the least. Something funky, something morning-y. Finally i found something that i could bear to use..yes...but it would not work with the new blogger..anyways..to cut a long story short i found myself in the foreign land of HTML. I did not have any background in this arena of computers. But i went ahead, i figured i could Google it right? there has to be blogger for dummies right? Anyways..I'm moving along pretty impressed with myself , and the progress i am making..till i get stuck on a pretty important issue. No matter how hard i tried..i could not figure out how to enable the comments. That doesn't really work when it comes to having a blog, kinda the point no? Whats a blog without comments? Like a summer without ice cream..Winter without snow...
So i sat there for hours, literally, trying i to figure it out..where does the bit of HTML go, what if i try it here..how bout there..and then at one point I remembered that i have a friend who does this for a living. She went to college to be a programmer and that is precisely what she is doing..programming. So i decided to try her, i called, emailed..called again-nothing. So I decided to move on, i saved the template that i had been messing with for so long, and again scoured the net for a skin that would do my blog justice and maybe a bit easier to adapt to...ie. something that would not take as much elbow grease so to speak...
BH, i found something that worked (and let me know what you think of the new page) but the question is as follows..
How hard and long do you have to try something until you recognize that maybe just maybe its not your forte..and that maybe as much as it hurts your ego its time to call in the professionals who know who to do it right?
Blogging isn't my entire world and I don't really spend that much time on the page..(sheepish grin) but I was a bit proud of myself for the minimal progress I had made with the original template and for some reason after making one or two things work I had convinced myself that i should be able to do this..its not that hard right?
Its important to give it a try and who knows you may be a natural at something. But it is not healthy or logical to expect that you will excel at everything. There are people who fear failure. They feel if they do not succeed then the failure will be everywhere lurking..mocking..So they do not try at all for fear of failure. This fear is paralyzing, not allowing one to move forward lest he stumbles and falls.
Yet, it is crucial for one not to let this laissez faire attitude spread. It does not mean being complacent and the first time you don't succeed well..its not my thing..and move on. Rather, we must be self aware to the extent that we know what we can do well, and what we cant. Armed with the knowledge..we can forge ahead giving every new challenge the old college try.
So where do you draw the line..between knowing what my thing is and excelling in it..and what i have no blessed clue do don't even try..and well maybe it will work and maybe it wont? When do we let the professionals come in and we stand by? and How long do we keep at? What is the breaking point? Is that giving up? Or is it being realistic?
So to blog skins i went..looking or something inspired to say the least. Something funky, something morning-y. Finally i found something that i could bear to use..yes...but it would not work with the new blogger..anyways..to cut a long story short i found myself in the foreign land of HTML. I did not have any background in this arena of computers. But i went ahead, i figured i could Google it right? there has to be blogger for dummies right? Anyways..I'm moving along pretty impressed with myself , and the progress i am making..till i get stuck on a pretty important issue. No matter how hard i tried..i could not figure out how to enable the comments. That doesn't really work when it comes to having a blog, kinda the point no? Whats a blog without comments? Like a summer without ice cream..Winter without snow...
So i sat there for hours, literally, trying i to figure it out..where does the bit of HTML go, what if i try it here..how bout there..and then at one point I remembered that i have a friend who does this for a living. She went to college to be a programmer and that is precisely what she is doing..programming. So i decided to try her, i called, emailed..called again-nothing. So I decided to move on, i saved the template that i had been messing with for so long, and again scoured the net for a skin that would do my blog justice and maybe a bit easier to adapt to...ie. something that would not take as much elbow grease so to speak...
BH, i found something that worked (and let me know what you think of the new page) but the question is as follows..
How hard and long do you have to try something until you recognize that maybe just maybe its not your forte..and that maybe as much as it hurts your ego its time to call in the professionals who know who to do it right?
Blogging isn't my entire world and I don't really spend that much time on the page..(sheepish grin) but I was a bit proud of myself for the minimal progress I had made with the original template and for some reason after making one or two things work I had convinced myself that i should be able to do this..its not that hard right?
Its important to give it a try and who knows you may be a natural at something. But it is not healthy or logical to expect that you will excel at everything. There are people who fear failure. They feel if they do not succeed then the failure will be everywhere lurking..mocking..So they do not try at all for fear of failure. This fear is paralyzing, not allowing one to move forward lest he stumbles and falls.
Yet, it is crucial for one not to let this laissez faire attitude spread. It does not mean being complacent and the first time you don't succeed well..its not my thing..and move on. Rather, we must be self aware to the extent that we know what we can do well, and what we cant. Armed with the knowledge..we can forge ahead giving every new challenge the old college try.
So where do you draw the line..between knowing what my thing is and excelling in it..and what i have no blessed clue do don't even try..and well maybe it will work and maybe it wont? When do we let the professionals come in and we stand by? and How long do we keep at? What is the breaking point? Is that giving up? Or is it being realistic?
I like the new background! I think its much batter than the cream colored one u had for a couple days!
ReplyDeleteThanks! glad u like the background..what about the actual content?:p
ReplyDeleteWhat an excellent question! I think it all comes down to the question of cost versus benefit. I'm all for acquiring new skills. In fact, if there's one pattern that explains many of my life decisions, it would be a drive to acquire new skills. However, assuming you have more than one way to spend a certain amount of time, you need to decide which is a better use of your time. When I was younger, I used to change my oil myself because I figured it was a useful skill and I had the time, but nowadays I let the experts do it because I can put that time to better use. But this is by definition a very personal decision. So, I for example might choose to practice my bagpipe skills rather than spend an hour learning basic HTML, and you might choose the opposite. Thanks for the thought-provoking post!
ReplyDeleteAsForMeAndBeiti.blogspot.com
Good question... obviously when a person dives into something (that they hope will be fruitful) its hard when it doesnt go according to plan. and i know how you feel! i spent three months trying to make a video I was working on work and it was DRAINING. i was manipulating the computer, the program, trying something ANYTHING... THREE MONTHS.. talk about tough... but then again, it depends what you are working on. Doctors go to school for 5 plus years... 10 plus years... FIFTEEN plus years... and its hard and i bet they want it over cuz they dont get that gratification right away but they stick to it. and even more so, as a parent. yuo struggle with a child, determined to raise a perfect child, to imbue them with a love for torah (or a love for goodness) and sometimes you get it.. and sometimes you dont. but to say there is a line to draw (hey this sounds familar...) i guess isnt really plausible unless there is life or death on the line... and like i wrote in mine, it was a reference to the societal view, and in fact, there really is no line, as you alluded to. complacency is laziness... and if its something you are passionate, GO FOR IT! even if its not your thing, take pride in what you do! (and as for professionals, dont think they are so "up there" and can do it all... sometimes its that attitude that is their downfall, or slip up) anyhow, every situation is different. and if its something you WANT to be good at, persist in it! sweat at it! how do you think a person acquires torah? they must sweat, scream and sing, make it a part of themselves in order to attain it.. HTML is different, but if you want to be good at it, try, and try again... "Sheva yipel Tzadik Va'Kum..." "Ki nafalti kamti!" in the falling, you will rise... and in order to rise, you must fall... failure is inevitable... picking yhourself up is work...
ReplyDeletehope this wasnt too strong....
and i want to see this HTML of yours ;) new design is great... keep it up!
I like the new look! Though I do miss the picture of the Kotel...
ReplyDeletePNN-that is a great way of simplifying it. I just need to point out that i had no intention of spending that long and never set out to learn anything..its just kinda happened. But yes,its true it all depends on how you want to spend your time
ReplyDeleteRacheli- I never meant to say that you should give up. I agree that we have to constantly be striving especially in terms of spirituality. No matter how many times we fall, we have to get up and try again. If we stay down, then the yetzer hara wins...his ultimate goal is to get us to give up. As long as we keep fighting then we are winning the good fight.(great comment!)
SternGrad- thanks..it was a great pic, i can send it to you if you want..it was time for a change i get bored..i have music ADD like non other :p
Personally, being very headstrong, once I start something I refuse to leave it unfinished. After that for the next time I decide whether or not it is worth it for me to go at it myself or leave it for someone else. There is no "general time or point" to make that decision, it is up to the persons personal discretion, as different people have different lengths as to how far they will go until they admit defeat.
ReplyDeletebtw i think removing the word verification before commenting makes it a lot more user friendly
LOACB-I relate to the headstrong-ness, we are a stubborn nation are we not? and i agree that everyone has a different tipping point..i was just curious to see what makes different people "break"
ReplyDeleteas for the word confirmation..it keeps out spam..but thanks for the suggestion.
It depends on what you are aiming for. If it's something that you've tried all options and even tried getting help and still can't get it to work (like your HTML example), then you have to see what your breaking point is. Personally, I love computers, technology and all the stuff that go along with it so I might have continued trying other options, asked more people until I figured it out.
ReplyDeleteI had a similar experience when I was trying to set up the "submit your question anonymously" feature on my blog a long while ago - but eventually I got it to work! It took lots of time and HTML figuring out but when it worked it felt so good!
And the harder you work on it, the better you feel when you get what you want!
There are some things where at a certain point you know, you can almost see that you aren't getting there and it's just not gonna work. So if you hit a dead end and just can't see any way of making it happen, then you may have to just throw your hands up in the air and say, "Hashem, I did mine. If YOU still want it, you'll make it happen. I can't do anything anymore."
Devorah- I like your last bit about giving it over to Hashem. At a certain point after we have truly done all our hishtadlut then we can turn to HAshem and say..ive done my part..nice thought!
ReplyDeleteThanks, glad you liked that last point. I feel it's the most important thing to remember, always. A person has to keep in mind that when things get too difficult, they can turn to Hashem because only He can help them!
ReplyDelete