Seeking Progress Over Change

We talk a lot about change, “Change is good” and “I need a change” or maybe “I just wish he would change.” I even heard a prominent political figure talk about “hope and change.” But is “change” really the answer?

Change is a natural process requiring no direction or intention. Change happens whether we like it or not, it’s inevitable. Our world and lives are in a constant state of flux, we don’t need to seek out change, it finds us.

If I ignore my wife and neglect to make time for her, our relationship will change. We will grow apart and become more distant. Intimacy will suffer. If I don’t pay attention to what I eat, I will change. I will get fatter and feel sluggish, but hey, at least it’s change!

What we must seek is progress. Progress is directed change. It requires sacrifice, intentionality and commitment. It demands you have a plan of action and execute deliberately. Most importantly, it doesn’t happen by accident. Too many are hoping to advance in life, but they are waiting around, expecting something to just “happen” to them.

Life is too short to wait around for things to magically get better, you must “happen” to life. Your circumstance will improve when you improve. We need to start eliminating “if I just had …” from our vocabulary. “I’m not happy but if I just had *insert magic fix here* then I’d be content.” It might be that new job, a raise, a better car, a spouse, a nicer boss, more kids, less kids, a helicopter, etc. When we seek external changes as the solution to our problems, we diminish our own responsibility and cripple our power to affect positive transformation.

Don’t sit around waiting for change. Instead, relentlessly pursue progress. Make a plan for continual self-improvement. Small, incremental advances – consistently executed – are the currency of achievement. That is far superior to a handful of change.

Comments

Toxic Humility

We have all seen false humility: the guy who tries to hide his arrogance with feigned modesty. It’s usually pretty obvious and always obnoxious. But there is also another variation of false humility out there: toxic humility. This is often displayed in self-deprecating talk and a lack of self-confidence, belittling or undermining one’s own talents and abilities. The danger in this kind of behavior is twofold: it is too often accepted as true humility and like a virus, it spreads doubt and disbelief. To clarify, it is not that the bearer of this toxic humility isn’t honest about his view of himself. That is the very issue: he absolutely believes he has little value or utility. He thinks downplaying his own worth is humility but I disagree. CS Lewis said it best when he wrote, “Humility is not thinking less of yourself, it's thinking about yourself less.” His point being, true humility is not an ever-present raincloud of self-doubt that follows you around. It’s a focus on...

Flower Among Thorns

About six or seven years ago, my wife was around three months pregnant as we eagerly anticipated the birth of another child. One night, as I lay sleeping, I had a dream that our baby was born. It was a beautiful little girl with thin, wispy hair and large, bright eyes punctuating her beautiful face. I held her proudly in my arms and stared down at this precious little creation. I carefully handed her off to her older brother, who was just a toddler himself, as he sat on the coach, arms outstretched, anxiously awaiting the chance to hold his baby sister. I helped him prop up a pillow underneath his little arms to help support my daughter and then stepped back to take in the amazing sight as he gazed down at her with both pride and amazement in his eyes. As I stood there watching them, the dream quickly faded. When I woke up, my eyes met the tearful glance of my wife. “I’m bleeding,” she said as she fought back the emotions, “I think I am miscarrying.” Those words sunk deeply i...

Primed for Progress

Just as some pumps need to be primed to work effectively, our lives need to be “primed” to flow efficiently. Good mornings and productive days don’t happen by accident, and by “priming” your day, you can set yourself up for better results. Does it mean you won’t have bad days? Of course not, but it’s making your day happen instead of just waiting for what happens. Once again, it’s a choice of being proactive rather than reactive. You will still have challenges and difficulties, but how you face those hurdles and respond to the struggles will be different with a primed mindset. I am sure there are many ways to prime your day and set the tone for the hours ahead, and what works for one won’t necessarily work for all. However, the process of creating a plan or a model of how things should unfold is a great place for anyone to start. Also, as I have mentioned before, how you actually start the morning is critical - the battle with the alarm clock is your first chance at victory for...

Mindset Matters

Search This Blog