The more things change the more they remain the same

In our work lives, when something isn't working, we struggle with which part of problem to tackle first. Do we start with cost reduction? What about morale? Or should we begin with process improvement?

In our personal lives, it's the samne dilemma - which problem do we work on first? Should we resolve to do better with home finances? Make our marriage more fulfilling? Get rid of ten kilos? Spend more time with the kids?

The optimist says there's oppurtunity everywhere we look. The pessimist says everything is messed up, and it's as though every system is perfectly designed to stay messed up, no matter how many things we try to fix.

We pick the problem to work on, and either we fail or succeed. If we fail, we add "frustration" to our list of problems. If we succedd, a new problem pops up to replace the old one.

You have too much stress, you get diabetes and other stress diseases, to beat the stress you start to overeat, smoke or drink. To solve this, you start to spend time at gym and outdoors, the kids get neglected, your boss complains you are not spending enough time at office. You can't afford to lose the job or the kids or your health and you are back to stress again.

As they say in Landmark - The solution to a problem becomes the next problem. And the more things change, the more they remain the same Why is that?
I spend nearly a decade with transformational work of Landmark and I think fixing things in a patchwork style, does not achieve anything. The end is same as the begining, sometimes even more complex.

Think about the people you know who have wrestled with the same personal problem for years - weight, drugs and alcohol, or an unhappy personal relationship. Although they may say "I want to get help" they dont change or improve. Their actions show a recurrence. Why is it so hard to change? Because wrestling with that problem over and over - sometimes winning, sometimes losing but always struggling.

Our default future has a certain predictable shape.

The more things change the more they remain the same. - So what is the option? There is only one solution that works. That is because it is not a solution. There is nothing to fix, change or imnprove.

Rewrite a future. When you do that your actions shift from disengaged to proactive. From resigned to inspiring and from frustrated to creative. Imagine if everybody in the family could rewrite the future of the family or employees can create a future for the organisation.

That kind of transformation will create a wave of momentum.

Some of you may find the above heavy or confusing. Well all I can say here is transformation is hell of confusion and it rips you apart. But that is the only thing that I have found really works.

No fixing, changing or improving. Just creating a future that fullfills me now and it will be there for ever.

Take Care