I read a piece a few days ago that was so well written, a true breath of fresh air. So, of course, I’m that much more determined to produce top notch work. Of course. It’s definitely something I can whip up every single time I put fingers to keys. And it shouldn’t take too long. I mean, 15-20 minutes maximum has got to be enough time. Truth is, I can’t afford to dedicate much more time than that, at least not in one sitting. And even though the author of the piece I read most likely took at least 60 minutes to create a solid draft, and even though it was clear from her words that she’s a professional writer, I should be able to knock out solid prose in the same amount of time it takes me to drive to work. And driving to work is easy. I don’t even have to think about. Suddenly, I’m there. Amazing.

Sound crazy, right? But that’s what we’ve become, a people who expect a ridiculous amount of finesse from each other. The messiest place on earth should be social media. It shouldn’t be surprising when someone’s posts contain a certain amount of “off-ness” but who’s the qualified gatekeeper? 

Yes, some things just shouldn’t be said. Some things we should all be wise enough to shut up about. We’re not, though. And these online spaces are Industrial Revolution babies times a thousand. We produce a ton of material in such short amounts of time but the quality control department is comprised of an unpaid and highly opinionated staff, mostly uncredentialed. Again, who sets the standards? Me, of course, which means all of us…which is poor management. 

So why do we expect the best work without the best controls? Is it really all about unrealistic expectations? No. That’s part of it but it’s bound to be more complex than that. I don’t have the to figure it out. 

I’m joking. Of course I have time. My husband’s helping paint Advent House’s basement. Our child and I are in my office. She’s asleep in my arms. I have all the time I need. So let’s go. 

People keep producing good work–that’s the problem. We know it’s a reality because life has yet to completely fall apart. 

Is this a researched conclusion? No. I don’t have time for that but that doesn’t stop me from concluding. In fact, I’m quite confident in my thought. If more people did terrible work, we’d have fewer unrealistic expectations because our faith in humanity would be shot.  So we’d mostly assume the worst and (somehow) keep moving. 

This post is part of my desire to write 500 words each day for a month. I began on June 20, 2016. The primary goal is writing daily. The secondary goal is writing something of great depth. If I only achieve the primary, I’m perfectly fine.