Are you a ‘practical’ person? You don’t spell practical, c-o-m-p-r-o-m-i-s-e, do you? They aren’t the same thing and they produce two entirely different results. (And from experience… one of those path choices may not be all that it’s cracked up to be.) Webster defines practical by itself which I find quite annoying – that doesn’t tell one anything! However, when you consider the synonyms: judicious, sensible, pragmatic, functional, reasonable; then we begin to understand how that the word is defined operationally. And operational is the important issue. So, using the synonyms, do you consider that you are practical? And if not, why?
As a adjective, ‘practical’ according to Webster means: ‘concerned with experience or actual use; not theoretical; useful or general, adapted, etc.” Again the issue is use. Often this behavior, attitude is dismissed and/or belittled as being plodding, lacking in creativity or spontaneity. ‘Careful’ might be a better description of practical – and careful and hesitant are not the same. However, the same attitude may be directed against ‘careful’ as it is toward ‘practical’. Yet… in a crisis, who is the person that other’s typically turn to?
Practical is a quality to be encouraged and nurtured and it can easily co-exist with creative and spontaneous. It’s again the issue of use. How do we define and display each of those words? Our answer, which may not be someone else’s, will provide us a better picture of our operational uses. I believe that we should never be dismissive of any of the manifestations of ‘practical’ though our end result may not be utilizing them, they may simply be a counterpoint to the eventual decision. The point should be the goal – what is our desired result.
Obviously, in my world of applied definitions, the point should be how we see the word used operationally. Do we manifest our ‘practical’ in a way that can be seen in the best light? Do we offer our responses that invite questions that lead to resolution? Isn’t the point… resolution? If it is then we need to present ‘practical’ as well as other options. In the final analysis practical is not a negative and could be the path to the best decision.
