#get it done

A couple people have pointed out that anytime I skype them while I’m at my home, there is always at least one other person there too.  Unfortunately, this does not mean that I am ever-popular and constantly have friends around, but rather that there is always cleaners, movers, maintenance, hangers, delivery men, laundry boys, guards, etc.  This is because in the UAE, service is inexpensive, and so rather than hanging curtains or fixing lights on my own (and likely messing things up) I hire someone to do it and pay a minimal price.  This is nice in that things get done effectively and quickly- but I realize it is a bit different from the normal growing-up process my peers are going through.  As a consultant- always thinking of organizing things into groups- I came up with these three division of people:

Lazys: the people who are content with having nothing accomplished.  They see a problem and just let it be.  Even if it will lead to dire circumstances, they see it as a slow process of destruction that they do not have to take care of.

Do-ers:  the people who get their hands dirty, see something that needs to be fixed and then learn how to fix it and dive right in.  For them the process of making things right is just as important as the outcome of order.  The only fault of the do-er is that sometimes their actions are not as effective in both time spent and/or quality of the out-come

Get-it-doners: the people who see a problem and find someone else who will have the solution.  It will be accomplished, but not by their own hands, and likely at a cost.  The get-it-doners will have the highest quality solutions (as they will bring in experts) but their dependence on others, causes problems if a solution is needed quickly.

Most twentysomething new adults like myself are either lazys or do-ers, I am somewhat unique in that I live in a place where the means required to be a get-it-doner are low.  Though it will work for these next two years while I’m in the UAE, I’m nervous that being so strongly a get-it-doner will impede my life when I may need to be a do-er. It is also a bit demoralizing in a way to have to rely on others for simple things, and I think that the independence that comes with early adulthood really pushes one to be a do-er.  However, I notice myself often seeing that something needs to get done, feeling like I don’t have the time or understanding, and so just asking someone else.

The danger in this is not just reliance, but also entitlement, and one needs to be careful to not think that they are “too good” to be a do-er.  It is these balances that must constantly be considered as an ex-pat in the Gulf.

me @ pens: don’t you add jon’s vid of tanger working out on your insta story if you’re not going to follow it up by telling me you signed him!