What do you have to show for yourself? Reflections on "results."

During a recent moment of reflection, I got to thinking about results.  

I put an awful lot of effort into things that don't show much results. Sometimes I feel like a hamster stuck on one of those little wheels.  Am I a "loser" or "disaster" as Donald Trump likes to say?  Should I work harder -- change my strategy perhaps? 

I found myself asking a hard question, "Do results matter?"

Results do matter. When I paid a pretty penny last year to get a new water and sewer line put in, I wanted results. Though I appreciated that the workers put in a lot of effort, results is what I was looking for. 

A "results mindset" has served our culture well, or has it? From America back to Great Britain and further back to Rome, we have always valued results more than effort.  Show me the bottom line, don't tell me how hard you worked.  What is the profit margin?  What is the quality of your product?  Prices should be determined by results alone.  It is in our economics in the form of capitalism, in our polictics in the form of term limits, in sports on the jumbo-tron -- have you ever wondered why we use so many number in Western sports? It's in religion too where successful pastors are rewarded with TV contracts and book deals, unsuccessful ones are fired. We have built super-powers on this mantra, from the Roman Empire, to Spain, to Portugal, to Germany, to Russia, to England and now the USA we dominated the world through our tyrannical commitment to this ideal.  Results at all costs!  We built unprecedented wealth through industrialization and a focus on efficiency. There is unprecedented innovation in medicine because of a profit motive.  The standard of living has skyrocketed in the last several centuries due in part to our focus on results.  Even in my profession of Social Work, we talk a lot about evidenced-based practice. The assumption is that we should not be doing anything that doesn't produce results.  

Like a multitude of minions, it seems we all chime in . . . 

No whining.  Just do it. 

In most recent times, some say this focus on results is slipping away, and we need to "make America great again."  There be some truth to that, but when I think about the real impact of my life, this results mindset rings hollow. Do results alone matter? What about the process?  Does the effort in the process have any intrinsic value separate from the measurable results? Does winning alone matter or is there value in how you play the game?"  

It seems there are at least five problems with the results mindset. 

1. The results mindset begs a finite definition of success, but most of what I want for people in my life is infinitely complex.  I want my sons to be obedient yet independent, steadfast yet flexible, compassionate but not soft, honorable but not proud -- the list could go on and on.  The results I really want defy reasonable definition.  The results mindset works well when you are talking about sewer pipes -- not so good when you are talking about the impact that my life has on my sons.  

2. The results mindset assumes that I can control others.  Control is really the dark underbelly of the results mindset. In the rush to results, I take control of the whole thing.  I need to sterilize the environment and take complete control of all variables to get clear, precise, good results.   That works in some sciences but not so much when impacting people.  It makes me think of the workplace adage, "The beatings will continue until morale improves."   

3. The results mindset tends to reduces the focus to minor outcomes. In my profession, we help people get jobs.  We are successful at it partly because we focus narrowly on jobs. The real needs of young people like love, confidence, compassion, responsibility, etc. we don't measure because we couldn't possibly document results even though these are the most important things.  So we settle for a small definition of success because we need to show measurable results.

4. The results mindset assumes that life is linear. A causes B which then causes C. If C doesn't happen, B is to blame, or perhaps A. People are just so much more complex than that. Behavior is reciprocal and fluid. "The wind blows wherever it pleases. You hear its sound, but you cannot tell where it comes from or where it is going. So it is with everyone born of the Spirit." (John 3:8 NIV)

5. The results mindset exhausts me because it puts responsibility on the cause (me) which leads to the effect (people I am suppose to be helping). In the middle of the exhaustion, I forget to be the person I am. The Gospel puts being before doing and results are barely mentioned. "So in Christ Jesus you are all children of God through faith," (Galatians 3:26 NIV). "For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do."(Ephesians 2:10 NIV). In Scripture, results are way behind both "being" and "doing!" In fact, Jesus repeatedly promises disaster on those who try to make a difference in people's lives. People will even think they are doing good by getting rid of you!

So ...

"Good news" I say to myself. When it comes to the measure of my life on people, the pop phrase is actually pretty true. "Be the change you wish to see in the world." "Results" are important but always imperfect. I like Paul's words, "... our first duty is to be faithful to the one we work for" (I Corinthians 4:2, CEV). Having heard His voice personally, that's a life worth living. It is certainly a long way from the hamster cage.