Pursuing Perfect #7: Don’t change… LEARN.

THERE IS NO MIRACLE MOMENT.

DON’T CHANGE.

“We didn’t talk so much of change. We recognized early on not so much that we needed to change but that we needed to evolve, which recognizes that we’ve got to do things differently. We realized that evolution is a whole different concept than change.”

-Pitney Bowes

Nowadays many people look to social media for a quick fix, a band aid for their problems.

They are told to change.

The issue for most people is this, the idea of change is overwhelming and the action of change is crippling.

Change is extremely difficult.

Recently, I listened to a pastor I really enjoy and appreciate named Erwin McManus.

He discussed a concept of discovery. Discovery of ourselves. Finding and exploring our lives and our souls.

It lead me to think of a game like hide and seek.

Something is hidden within a certain set of boundaries and it is your goal to find the hidden item, person, etc.

Let’s say a red golf ball.

Most people are very excited when they start the game.

It’s an adventure.

They have a goal, the red golf ball.

They know, generally, where to look.

They know what to do.

Then they do it and find it.

They’re pursuing something (the red golf ball) they KNOW exists and something they have been told exists by the person who placed it there. (And we trust they’re telling the truth).

They know it’s just a matter of intelligence, persistence, and action until they find the red golf ball.

They start like a wildfire, with energy and enthusiasm to find it, they’re unstoppable. Nothing can stop them from finding the red golf ball.

Then, as they continue to look, they realize it’s harder than they imagined it would be to find this item, they may get discouraged and want to stop, the energy levels drop and soon moral follows.

But then, they receive a hint or a clue that pushes them to think differently or see things differently, and they get a renewed sense of energy and purpose.

They learned something new...

Now they go on with excitement and keep searching and discover the red golf ball.

It’s a moment of glory.
Bliss.

They are ecstatic. They won.

And it is an amazing feeling to win.

But winning is a verb.

Not a noun.

You can’t hold onto it forever.

It’s something you do, it passes, and you’re back on the road looking again.

Now I share this example because, change is a bizarre thing to accept.

BUT

What if instead of changing ourselves, we look to discover ourselves.

We look to discover and explore our true self.

Maybe change is not what we need, maybe we need to look in the mirror, and ask ourselves the question, is that really who I am or is there a better version inside?

Is there a more optimal version of myself I need to discover and find?

The magic, to me, is not in the answers to these questions, the magic lies within the question itself.

Asking ourselves to learn about our inner workings and what works and what doesn’t work for us, is crucial.

Change is implying we are broken, like when we need to change a tire, which could be true, but I don’t believe God creates anything broken.

I believe God gives us dreams in order for us to achieve them.

He sets up a game of hide and seek.

The part we are seeking is not impossible for us to find, it is possible to pursue our best, but it is always moving and keeps us on our toes.

We have to keep enthusiasm and energy.

We can lose energy and become discouraged but then we get a hint or a clue which either points us in a new direction or encourages us we are on the correct path.

The mental shift from changing, to searching, is a game of hide and seek.

It’s a learning experience.

It’s an exciting experience.

It’s a growth experience.

It’s a discovery experience.

Seek to be a pioneer of your heart, mind, and spirit.

Don’t look to change.

Look to discover.

Discover what works for you.

Discover what doesn’t work for you.

Learn to manage your routines and habits because we all have them no matter what.

Make them serve you and do them with purpose.

Falling into habits is a sign that failure is on the horizon.

Creating and managing routines is one way to control the momentum in your life.

Purposeful routines push you in the direction of meaning and purpose with the unpredictable parts of life.

Purposeful routines show an understanding of yourself.

It shows you love you.

It shows you care about performing at your best and you crave the results.

Routine is about controlling the unpredictable parts of life.

It’s about setting the table, aligning the utensils, and placing the napkin, so there can be controlled mayhem on the plate.

Managing of habits will put you in control of the trajectory of your life, it cannot control events or people, but habit management puts you in control of your mind, your actions, and ultimately your results.

This is the starting point of creating wins in your life.

Learn to manage distractions because you can never eliminate them.

Learning and discovering which distractions take you off track is a great way to become aware of yourself and learn to move past them with ease instead of allowing them to knock you off course entirely.

People play the comparison game, constantly. This is why I believe there is such a cultural obsession with CHANGE.

Maybe we don’t need to change our nature or change ourselves, maybe that’s actually the problem.

Maybe we haven’t observed ourselves enough because we are so obsessed with observing everyone else.

Maybe we need to stop scrolling and comparing and start reflecting and asking.

We don’t need change, we need awareness.

We need to see ourselves for what we are, then what we can become.

We need to cultivate ourselves, ask tough questions while looking in the mirror and bring out our best nature.

Find what works best.

Learn to manage yourself, don’t try to constantly change yourself.

Observe you.

Invest into learning how you work and operate at your best.

Here are some practical methods and questions to ask yourself next time you look in the mirror, from management expert Peter Drucker:

What are my strengths?

How do I learn?

How do I perform?

What are my values?

Where do I belong?

Where do I not belong?

What can I contribute?

What distracts me?

When am I distracted?

These questions are a fantastic start to begin to learn about yourself and what it takes for you to win.

If you’re a winner you’ll invest the time to answer these honestly and write the answers down, the old fashioned way.

Pen(cil) and paper.

For you to achieve.

For you to find the dreams God has given you.

In some ways comparing yourself to others can be an extremely helpful, productive, and healthy way to improve your life but as the old saying goes, the cart can’t go before the horse.

The horse is understanding yourself.

The cart is healthy competition with others.