Change? We don't need no stinkin' Changes

Albert Einstein is remembered for many things.  His work in theoretical science led to many wonderful breakthroughs in the applied sciences.  Albert Einstein is also remembered for his common sense approach to life and that approach resulted in many memorable quotes.

One in particular, is applicable today.  Einstein said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results.”    

How many times do we find ourselves doing the same thing over and over again and wondering why nothing seems to be working the way we expect and want it to?

We take comfort in our rituals, patterns, and habits.  We get used to doing the same things the same way.  Think about this:  what did you have for supper last night?  What did you have for supper a week ago?  I imagine, if your home is like my home, you can pretty much tell what day it is by what’s for supper.  

Let’s talk about change.   No one likes to change, but if what you are doing isn’t working, something has got to change.  If the results you are getting aren’t the results you want then something has to change.  The word change scares some people.  Whether or not they want to admit it, change is scary so they resist change.  Their reasons (or excuses, as the case may be), sound good.  “We don’t want to rush in to things,” or “making sudden changes can cause problems,” in reality this is a passive aggressive way to resist change because the idea of changing scares people. 

Change can be scary.  Change for the sake of change is not necessarily a good thing.  Change for the sake of improvement is a good thing.  When I talk to people about making changes, I usually hear something along the lines of “well, this is the way I’ve always done it and it’s worked so far.”  But is it really working?  A former manager of mine said this “do not mistake effort for results.”   Just because we are doing something that may have worked in the past does not guarantee continued results.   

What are you doing in your life?  Are you getting the results you want?  Maybe you are looking for a particular improvement in your life—your marriage, your job, your lifestyle, whatever it may be, but you aren't seeing the results you want.  Perhaps you should consider making a change in your approach.  

I’m reminded of a person I was talking to one day.  I was standing on their front porch talking to them and they made the statement that they wanted to stop smoking cigarettes, in fact, they said, that they had been trying for a month to stop smoking.  As they said this, they pulled a cigarette out and began to smoke.  I made this statement “Talking about change is not change.  Making changes is change.” 

Perhaps we should stop talking about making changes and make real changes in our lives.