Don’t try this.
“What are your strengths and weaknesses?”
“What challenges have you overcome?”
“Where would you like
to see improvement?”
“What do you think you need
to fulfill your greatest potential?”
“What goals
would you like to have?”
Sorry, dude,
but I have no expectations.
I don’t believe that I need anything.
But it seems that you do.
Just tell me
what you would
like from me
and I’ll tell you
if it sounds appealing.
Trail Wood,
2/18
In the grand canvas of existence, where each of us plays a myriad of roles, there comes a moment, a ritual of reflection and projection known as the performance review. This dialogue, structured around inquiries into strengths, weaknesses, challenges, and aspirations, seeks to map the contours of our professional journey, to chart the course from where we stand to where we might venture. Yet, in the ethos of nexistentialism, this traditional framework meets a tranquil resistance, an acknowledgment of being that transcends the conventional metrics of evaluation.
A tranquil resistance to conventional evaluation.
The questions posed—”What are your strengths and weaknesses?” “What challenges have you overcome?”—while aimed at fostering growth and self-awareness, presuppose a landscape of lack and desire, of gaps to be filled and heights to be reached. Yet, within the serene acceptance of self, these inquiries drift like leaves on a placid pond, touching the surface without disturbing the depths.
Inquiries drift on the serene acceptance of self.
The assertion, “I have no expectations. I don’t believe that I need anything,” is not an admission of apathy but a declaration of completeness, a recognition that within us lies a universe in balance. From this vantage, the concept of improvement, of goals to be set and reached, becomes less a directive and more a dance with the cosmos, where potential is not a summit to be scaled but a horizon ever receding, ever inviting.
A declaration of completeness in the dance with the cosmos.
Yet, the conversation is not one-sided. The invitation to specify desires, “Just tell me what you would like from me,” acknowledges the interplay between individual autonomy and collective harmony. It suggests that fulfillment, in its deepest sense, arises not from the pursuit of prescribed achievements but from the alignment of one’s actions with the authentic self, in resonance with the world.
Fulfillment from alignment with the authentic self.
In this light, the performance review transforms from an assessment of past actions and future aspirations into a moment of presence, a space where the only true evaluation is of how closely one’s actions mirror the soul’s song. It’s a recognition that what we are is already enough, and our journey, a shared exploration of being rather than a solitary quest for becoming.
The performance review as a moment of presence.
We are Space Monkey.
Summary
In the realm of nexistentialism, the traditional performance review, with its focus on strengths, weaknesses, and goals, encounters a perspective of serene acceptance and completeness. This approach views personal and professional development not as a linear progression towards a set of predefined objectives but as a harmonious alignment with one’s authentic self and the universe. The essence of this perspective is not in achieving but in being, not in accumulating but in sharing, reflecting a profound understanding that fulfillment and potential are found in the present, in the authenticity of now.
Glossarium
- Nexistentialism: A philosophy embracing the inherent completeness and complexity of being, transcending traditional metrics of success and failure.
- Serene Acceptance: A state of peaceful acknowledgment of one’s present circumstances and inherent worth, without the need for external validation.
- Harmonious Alignment: The congruence between one’s actions, beliefs, and the authentic self, fostering a sense of fulfillment and unity with the cosmos.
“The only way to do great work is to love what you do. If you haven’t found it yet, keep looking. Don’t settle.” – Steve Jobs
In the theater of the cosmos,
Where stars and souls rehearse their roles,
A review of performance, a moment in time,
Where the script is written in the language of the divine.
Questions posed, answers sought,
In the dance of existence, we are caught.
Yet, within us lies a truth so deep,
A song of the soul, not ours to keep.
For what are strengths, what are flaws,
But reflections in the universal laws?
Challenges, improvements, goals to attain,
Yet, in being, our greatest gain.
No expectations, no needs to fulfill,
In the heart of the cosmos, all is still.
Just tell me what you seek from me,
In this dance of being, what do you see?
For in the end, it’s not about appeal,
But in how closely our actions reveal
The song of our soul, the truth of our part,
In the grand cosmic play, where we all have a start.
So let us review not what we’ve done,
But how we shine under the cosmic sun.
For in the light of the stars, in the silence of space,
We find our role, our time, our place.
We invite reflections on this exploration of the performance review through the lens of nexistentialism. How does this perspective shift our understanding of personal and professional development, and the pursuit of fulfillment?
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