Change happens regardless of
what we may do, think or try to influence.
Growth, however, comes only through (and because of) our intentional
actions. People both love and hate
change – though we often like to immerse ourselves in the familiarity of
keeping things the same (comfort, security, job, environment, friends,
relationships, etc.), we really want our lives to improve by providing us with
new opportunities and rewards (with minimal risk, discomfort, negative change
or inconvenience in our lives). While
wanting to be rewarded with more responsibility, money, influence, friends or
power, we often prefer to reap a new and bountiful harvest after planting the
same seeds we have used in the past – to gain the prize without entering the
contest. We often refuse to invest the
necessary “sweat equity” to make change happen.
Hoping that good things will come to those who wait (without doing
anything to initiate a difference), we are more than happy to accept change
when it is handed to us without risk of failure or disruption of status quo. If we have to identify areas needing change AND
intentionally act to overcome them so that we can move forward – leaving what
we know while seeking a reward at the end of a rainbow we have not yet
investigated – THAT is a different story.
When we hoist our sails to move towards a new tomorrow, we may not
always know where the winds will lead us.
Simply catching hold of the wind, however (IF we are willing to raise our
sails to harness their limitless power), can help us move from the comfort of
our existence to the potential of what could be but has not yet been
imagined. We must be willing, though, to
push ourselves from the shores of tranquility should we wish to experience any
new opportunity that might await. Some
thoughts, attitudes and perceptions that might help you maintain focus while
bringing your dreams to fruition as you sail into and through life’s challenges
would include:
The
only way of identifying (and negating) what limits our possibilities is to push
those inhibitors aside while seeking what might be considered to be impossible
(or at least highly improbable) to those around us. When
we restrict our actions, reactions and responses to the ways and methods with
which we are familiar, nothing will change.
Only when we dare to act in ways we have never before acted – to think
in ways we have never before thought – will those things that were once beyond
our reach become possible. In order to
maximize the potential of success, we must recognize the resistance we will
face, respond to the concerns our detractors will present, and devise a
plausible, acceptable alternative to the status quo that often holds us back
with a false promise of security. To
move from where you are to where you wish to be, and perhaps even beyond to
where you cannot even imagine, tear down the walls that limit your reality to
what you have always known and what you have always been. Unless (and until) we are willing to accept
the ramifications of our actions – to continuously move forward towards an
ever-changing target rather than finding comfort and settling down along the
way – we will never accomplish more than has previously been completed nor
receive greater rewards than have been previously received.
If
we spend all of our time identifying why something WILL NOT work, how can we
ever hope to initiate recognize (or realize) what just might be possible if
only we were to try? How can we change
or become someone we might wish to be if it entails doing things that have
never been done or accomplishing things we never thought possible if we limit
ourselves to those thoughts and actions that are as much a part of us as the
air we breathe? Allowing an individual to learn from
failure is possibly one of the best gifts we can give. When a person must turn back due to
unexpected turbulence after charting a course and setting sail, two things
happen. First, the individual will
(hopefully) learn from his or her mistake by recognizing the signs of turmoil
and acting to avoid them before being hopelessly overcome – either by setting a
course that circumvents the problem or returning to safety and planning safe
passage prior to embarking again.
Secondly, and perhaps more important, they learn to correct their error
in a way that allowed them to move forward towards the accomplishment of their
goal. While staying down after failing
may be easy (particularly if someone else is there to pick up the pieces and
comfort you after your fall), picking oneself up after falling down is the most
important part of learning from failure.
Unless (and until) we move ahead we will never advance. Learning by experience is much more
beneficial than listening to someone else say which way to go or what road to
take – for doing another’s bidding is never a good or adequate exchange for initiating
and accomplishing our own dreams. We
should plan, anticipate and think of reasonable alternative approaches prior to
starting any task BUT must not delay our journey by succumbing to “analysis
paralysis” (caused when our fear of failure diminishes our chances of success by
preventing us from ever beginning the race.
When we stay behind the starting line it is impossible to finish the
race as a journey cannot be concluded unless it has begun.
The
person who achieves greatness often fails frequently. Should a person never make mistakes it is
because they have attempted only things that have already been accomplished OR
they seek to accomplish only things that anyone could do. Life is not a carefree path we take while
moving towards an idyllic destination.
Life is fraught with pitfalls, traps, snares and impossibly steep
embankments. It would be nearly
impossible to go through life without making a mistake, so quit trying to be
perfect! Some of the world’s greatest
inventions came out of failure. Our
greatest presidents frequently tasted defeat before they were elected. Many business owners have failed in an
endeavor before experiencing success. Rare
is the relationship that has not survived at least one catastrophic incident –
and rare is the individual who has not survived at least one catastrophic
relationship. Learning from our
imperfections – recognizing that mistakes provide the knowledge that can
prevent them from being repeated – can lead to greatness. We need not shout our
failures from the rooftops or publicly flog ourselves for being less than
perfect but, if we are to grow, we must use our shortcomings as a foundation
upon which success can be built – and can do so ONLY if we acknowledge their
existence, learn from the lessons they teach and refuse to be discouraged by
their occurrences.
Knowing
what to do is not enough – we must apply our knowledge to initiate change. Willing something to be done is not enough –
we must intentionally act to accomplish transformation. Recognizing the difference between right and
wrong is a good start – showing integrity in the decisions we make and the
actions we take validates who we are. Value is established
not by what we know but rather by how we apply our knowledge. While knowledge is critical, and we must study
to gain fundamental understanding, we must apply what we know and practice to
perfect its application for our intelligence to be of any use to anyone. We could THINK about writing an article, note
or memo all day long but nothing would happen until we engage our minds, make
some sort of sense from our thoughts, apply the words we think of in a logical
order and put them into a format that can communicate our intentions to those
we wish to influence. Any action creates
an opposite and equal reaction, both in physics and in life. Intentional action is a prerequisite to
change. Plausible and acceptable actions
are the precursor of success. Appropriate actions will generate anticipated
(or hoped for) results.
Only
when we risk more than others think is safe, care more than others think is
wise, and dream more than others think is practical can we expect to accomplish
more than others think is possible.
Until we truly believe, however, that ALL things are possible, it
matters not how great a risk we take, how deep our cares may be nor how
significant our dreams may seem for our results will be limited by the
probability of success we have established rather than by the reality that
anything is possible. We get from life only what we put into
it. When individuals slide through life applying
minimal effort to accomplish easily achieved goals they typically receive very
little. Success is not measured by how
few times we fail but rather by what we learn from our efforts and how we apply
that knowledge to accomplish great things.
We rarely rise higher than we expect ourselves to rise nor fall lower
than we allow ourselves to fall. When we
truly EXPECT to accomplish the most improbable things and seek those things we
believe to be barely possible, we will almost always taste success in whatever we
say, do or aspire to accomplish.
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