Being or Doing in The Air Force

[M2]

An interesting read...

Quote

Being or Doing in the Air Force

Col 'Ned Stark'

Life is about choices. We can’t control what happens to us, but we always have a choice in how to respond. Those choices reveal who we are. I once heard it said that we tend to judge people based on their actions even though we judge ourselves based on our intentions. There is some truth to that, but I’d like to suggest it’s not just our intentions, it’s also our rationalizations — the explanations we create for ourselves to justify the choices we’ve made. Many hear John Boyd’s remarks quoted above and convince themselves that it’s a false dichotomy — they can both be and do. I think it is a possible but rare thing. We all like to think we are the exception, but the odds are heavily stacked against that. I’d like to suggest there’s a spectrum with the pure careerist at one end and the pure doer at the other. Few, if any, people reside at the polar ends, but it’s safe to say the pressures and expectations at senior ranks tend to push people further toward the careerist pole the higher they climb in the ranks... (Full article at title link)

 

[Prozac]

Interesting article. Everyone serving should read Boyd. As to the Be vs Do choice, I think it’s simple. Be a “Do”er and let the chips fall where they may. If your career doesn’t take the trajectory you wanted, well at least you can look at yourself in the mirror. I’ve seen too many people compromise their character using the justification that if they can just move up the ranks they can affect real change. The moment you start down that rabbit hole is the moment your lobotomy begins. Next thing you know you’re pulling people out of scheduled training events to attend your mandatory all call where you stand around in ABUs (even though you’re a rated officer) where you pat yourself on the back repeatedly and insist on spending over an hour handing out awards to everyone on the base except for those who directly accomplish the mission. 

[BashiChuni]

Very good read thank you for posting it. 

 

[Day Man]

3 hours ago, Prozac said:

Next thing you know you’re pulling people out of scheduled training events to attend your mandatory all call where you stand around in ABUs (even though you’re a rated officer) where you pat yourself on the back repeatedly and insist on spending over an hour handing out awards to everyone on the base except for those who directly accomplish the mission. 

Or printing out and laminating cards that have your personal 'axioms' listed on them to pass out to your sq..🙄

[Bergman]

That was a really good read.  I could not agree more.

 

[Guardian]

Read this if you want some good advice for how BEing a DO’er will increase the quality and meaning of your life. Goes in hand with Boyd. Jordan Peterson 12 Rules for Life

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345816021/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_B5xCCbCC6MYR9

[Lord Ratner]

Read this if you want some good advice for how BEing a DO’er will increase the quality and meaning of your life. Goes in hand with Boyd. Jordan Peterson 12 Rules for Life

12 Rules for Life: An Antidote to Chaos https://www.amazon.com/dp/0345816021/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_B5xCCbCC6MYR9

Caveat, if your life is put together and you're generally happy, this book is not really targeted for you, unless you're just interested in the underlying psychological theory.