Gumption Traps and Jack Burgess Solutions

I am building the Ingleton shelf partially to judge amounts of time, energy, and motivation needed for various aspects of model railroading as part of the self-analysis recommended as a first step in designing a model railroad. In my last post I mentioned that building the Associated Grocers building is taking longer than I expected. Not maintaining expected progress and faltering motivation are issues I discussed much earlier in a post on modeler's block. 

In thinking about this over the last week or so, I started remembering a concept from a book I read decades ago. "Gumption traps" are a concept from Robert Pirsig's Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance from 1974. In this post, I will explore the concept, how it might apply to model railroading, and some possible solutions, including some suggestions made in several Jack Burgess videos.

Gumption can be defined as initiative or the energy and determination to accomplish something. Pirsig's concept of gumption "trap" can be thought of as those things that block or stifle gumption. They can sap energy, undermine one's belief that success is possible, and cause one to falter in drive to complete progress or even get started. Pirsig identifies two kinds of gumption traps: external ones that he calls "set backs" and internal ones that he refers to as "hang-ups."

Set Backs:

• Skipping an earlier step: Because the plastic parts were never washed, the paint scuffed off the finished model.
• Can't get a needed part: It's on backorder from Walthers with an unknown timeframe.
• Facing a step that one doesn't know how to do or even find out how to do: The screw is stripped to remove the boiler, so how do I clean the dried up grease from the gears?
• Health or age issues: Between tired eyes and shaky hands, can I even do this any more?
• Comfort/environment issues: The attic was too cold in the winter and too hot in the summer.
• Unexpected expenses: One clear, eight foot 1 X 3 is ten dollars plus tax?
• Oops: This one has almost infinite examples.

Hang-ups:

Hang-ups are personal quirks or psychological issues. Pirsig discusses three: "ego, anxiety, and boredom." Ego can be seen as an unrealistically high self evaluation where new facts or situations aren't considered and asking for help isn't an option. Anxiety is fear of failure. I suspect this is what keeps me from finishing the last steps of things in life and model railroading. Somehow I find "I really like how that is going, but its not quite done yet" (and it never gets done) preferable to the possibility of "I really messed that up." Boredom can be the result of not seeing something freshly or being able to achieve a flow state. Boredom can in turn result in tunnel vision or less than desirable results. (Pirsig's main point was around the meaning or philosophy of "quality" with the concept of gumption trap as a smaller component of his argument. I think I might have to reread his book to see where "good enough" fits in my personal philosophy of quality.)

Solutions: 

In general, most possible solutions to gumption traps revolve around learning how to acknowledge and adjust to them or avoid them. 

While Jack Burgess does not mention or refer to gumption traps in any way, he certainly pinpoints some ways to adjust to and avoid some of my model railroad gumption traps in several of his model railroading videos, particularly Get Organized and Tricks to Better Models. Here are a few from Get Organized:

• Commit to just 15-30 minutes every day
• Have all the parts on hand (perhaps put yourself on the stockpile to hoarding continuum) 
• Have all the tools on hand at the workbench 
• Be able to find what you want
• Stock what you will need
• Use an Optivisor

The Tricks video stresses the use of jigs. If one needs multiples of a sub-assembly creating a jig is not an extra step, but a time saver leading to more consistent results. As I get older, my always shaky hands are getting worse. Finding ways to utilize a stable "third hand," create a temporary jig, or to stabilize my hand may prevent frustration.

This post may have strayed from model railroading into pop philosophy and psychology, but it was a useful exploration, at least for me!