Taking credit
Someone just gave someone else credit for something I did.
It triggered my remembrance of what Iris Hone, who was the accountant for the Vancouver est Network in the early 1980s, said, which has stayed with me ever since as a kind of puzzle: You can have anything you want, she said, provided you don’t need to take credit for it.
That was a conundrum that I reflected on over and over for years. Why does that work the way it does?
Being on the awareness path, I began to find out by watching myself. Where was I at? Was I at saying, “It’s being said that it was Rex’s idea. It was actually mine. But I’m not going to say anything.” (Modest Steve.)
On the spectrum of service to self and service to others (and self), I’d say that’s about a six out of ten on the positive side of the spectrum. At least I’m not grumbling about it (but giving) which would be a five. (Begrudging Steve.)
Further down the path would be hearing it said and not blinking an eye. Not making any verbal bookmarks or grounds for future “I told you so’s.” A complete let-go. (Complete Steve.)
That’s what I’m aiming for.
If I don’t need to take credit for something, then there’s room for other people to enjoy the spotlight and feel pride in themselves and their own accomplishments. “Credit” is the least costly thing there is to give.
If I hog the spotlight, others can feel dismissed or demeaned, like there’s no room for them here.
And there are always many people who can rightfully take credit for some part of the overall operation. I need to vacate the spotlight and allow others to bloom.
That occurs if I don’t need to take credit for what just happened. (1)
Footnotes
(1) I think my brother Paul knew this principle. It explains the seraphic smile he’d be settled into when the time for credits arrived. He did not need to take credit himself and he dispensed credit liberally to others.