Improvement Requires Change

GriffinScat #03-08 1/3/2008

As it is still early January and thoughts of New Year’s resolutions are still near the top of our minds, I’d like to take a pseudo-scientific detour into the world of improvement. I would venture to guess that none of us think we have become, “the best we can be,” and since you’re reading this blog, you are probably the kind of person who is his/her own worst critic. If so, then you’re in a great place to take the actions required to achieve improvement in any area of your life you think needs it. What a great place to be!

Homeostasis is the condition of equilibrium toward which all matter tends. Eastern philosophy symbolizes this idea through the Yin & Yang that is commonly displayed by martial arts practitioners. Psychologists on television & in glossy magazines talk about the need to achieve balance in our lives for us to feel stable. Well, I’d like to argue that point a bit.

Water, as we all know, seeks its own level – its point of equilibrium, its homeostasis. We can use water as a source of power, but only when it is out of its equilibrium and trying to regain that state. Waterwheels and hydroelectric generators require falling water. A placid lake is worthless for power production. Static water is nice for a while. After a while, though, it loses its oxygen content, becomes stagnant and a breeding ground for disease.

Human beings are not much different. We seek our own balance, what many refer to as our “comfort zone.” However, if we stay in our comfort zone too long, we start to regress. The freshness we once knew becomes old. We dig our ruts so deeply that we start to operate on auto-pilot – not unlike the old-fashioned car ride in an amusement park where the cars run on a track over a guide rail that ensures that the car will stay in a predetermined path whether or not the driver even steers. As humans we naturally gravitate toward comfort and perceived safety rather than toward change. However, like that car running on the programmed path, we’ll never go anywhere new or see any different scenery unless we get disconnected from the rail. We are the only creatures on earth that can deliberately and voluntarily change our habits, actions & ways of thinking. We can even change our environment. No other creatures can come close to doing that!

If we know what we need to improve, we’ve got to take the step of changing our routines, getting out of our well-established ruts, and starting new habits. We’ve got to change what “normal” looks and feels like. But we need to be careful. The new “normal” will soon become routine and habitual, and we’ll have to take the next step toward improvement by once again changing the routine and doing things just a bit better. In essence, we need to keep our ruts very, very shallow. As soon as we feel one getting established, we need to change just enough to get out of it.

So look at the changes you know you need to make with excitement. Here’s your chance to break out of your rut and cause good change to happen. Don’t try to keep resolutions this year. Instead, make the changes that will put you on a better path.

“Fly high & roar loudly”

dirk

Next: Really enjoy what you do!