If the camel is carrying as many feathers as he can possibly carry, can the camel carry ONE more feather? The answer is no. The reason some struggle with the answer is that they set up the problem incorrectly by focusing on the weight of the feather rather than the capacity of the camel. To get the most from the "camel" watch how the load is stacked.
It is impossible to get the most from our life, our careers, and our relationships by squeezing in one more feather. It’s like the truck driver that jumped out and pounded the side of the truck with a baseball bat at each red light. At one of his stops someone asked what he was doing. He responded, "I have a one ton truck here, but I'm carrying two tons of canaries. I have to keep a ton of birds in the air at all times or this truck won't move."
We all carry and are limited to different loads and varying capacities. Most of us can be found trudging a heavy load dragging the ground. Capacity building refers to our ability, as a whole, to perform. Here are a few ideas for stacking the load properly without merely adding another feather to an already overtaxed load.
Understand our own capacity. At this stage we investigate all the parts of load by studying our personal attributes, gifts, and nuances. This might include personal assessment to find the strengths and challenges; it might mean personal and professional development, or focusing on priorities, or developing effective methods of collaboration with others.
Maintain our current capacity. We can build capacity without shifting the entire load. Achievements thus far in life are in direct proportion to the personal strengths on board. Hold on to the feathers that have attracted achievement.
Grow our current capacity. We have the innate ability to expand our capacity. Accelerate your rate of achievement rapidly by searching and vigorously employing new behavior that builds your current capacity.
We can expand too quickly and try too many things. Likewise, we can expand too slowly and never attempt anything new. The key is finding the workable balance by focusing on possibilities and eliminating the weighty limits of the load. Capacity building means moving outside our mental boundaries and even violating the boundary of the probable. It means achieving well beyond the obvious.
Weigh each feather. This means making sure we have the right feathers on board by weighing the parts and uncovering the effective and ineffective. Some feathers are worth the weight while others waste precious space and energy. We limit ourselves by just piling on more rather than streamlining the contents to include what we really want.
Get ruthless about doing something different. This means giving yourself permission to dream and to risk. We never escape risk. It’s not something we choose to live with or without. Something is always at stake. We can only decide which risks we will take. The only risks that aren’t worthwhile are the ones we have outgrown. Choose and chuck deliberately the feathers occupying your load.
Find ways to share the load. The will on the parts of others, together with a developing trust and passion for development on the part of our own will, makes the sum greater than the addition of the parts. It is important to view and grow our current load objectively or with an objective third party - a life coach for instance.
Right now in this moment, we are capable of exponential capacity building in our lives by demanding a willingness to risk mistakes and an unwillingness to concede defeat. Stack the load properly.
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