The Mission

I think learning is fun and asking questions to understand things is a key part of my personality.  Curiosity is key to being a good investigator and researcher. I want to know about things.  I want to understand how they work.  I need to see the big picture and to see how each piece fits. 

When I was a young woman entering the post high school work force, I worked at a factory on the assembly line.  I did not last long.   The routine nature of the task was not the problem.  It was the fact that I never got to see a finished product.  I only saw my small part.  I couldn't feel connected to the company and I didn't understand how what I did contributed.   I wanted to feel part of the system.

It seems to me that there are two ways of looking at things and two main personality types, keeping in mind that it is a spectrum.   People who can take something at face value and don't need to see the whys and wherefores. 

And then there are people who can make more informed and committed contributions when they understand the mission.  I am unhappy when I am involved in a cause, project, job, or group where I am given tasks with the caveat to just do what I am told.  I want to be a part of whatever we are trying to accomplish. 

It is not about being in charge.  I just want to understand.  I am a processor.  I am a tactician.  I will be more valuable to any endeavor when I understand why I am there.  Which style suits you – big picture, understand the mission and all the whys and wherefores, just do my job, know what you need to do and let it go?