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

No news is good news

When people of my generation (including me) were born, the world was a different place, it was a much better world.

We went to school on foot or in a rickshaw, the children of affluent few were seen on a bicycle. On the way to school we used to cross railway tracks, negotiate a steep climb and sometimes even find way through a water body. Our parents gave us guidelines on safety, but most of us never used it. We fell from rickshaws, got messed up in water or even broke bones speeding on cycles.

There was no mobile phone available, and the parents could not be communicated. Strangers took you to nearest doctor, who treated you for free and some stranger carried us to our home in our torn clothes and lost bags. But, we all got our treatment, no one died on the streets. The mother had no way to communicate the incident to father who was 20 kms away on work, and will return late night. No news was good news.

People used to write letters and address each other as respected father, Dear son, your's faithfully. The receipt of a post card from a dear one, was a source of immense joy and pleasure and sometimes sorrow. There was love and emotions in those postcards and Inland letters. The only news that needed to be communicated urgently by telegram was child birth and death. No news was good news.

In 1970's and early 80's there was one black and white TV in a cluster of 10 homes. Which showed only one channel containing programs of poor quality for 4 hours in evening, one movie in a week and one music show. However it was great source for the entire family or some times neighborhood to sit together and enjoy.

Those were good days.

Today everyone carries a mobile phone (some even two), each home has computers and internet. Each room has one TV. There is communication at finger tips. Emails, SMS, International calls, Domestic free calls and what not. Thousands of TV channels and millions of websites throw garbage at us non stop.

Today the list of dear ones has changed. No one writes letters. No one addresses parents as Dear Parents, Satkar yog, Agyakari or Your's faithfully.

We have more time for colleagues and work, than family. The relationship has become telephonic. Festival greetings are shared by stolen and forwarded SMS and forwarded chain emails. Every one watches different TV channel in a different room. Or listens to my kind of music on his Ipod or mobile phone.

This is time of news at fingure tips, the time of communication.

This is also the time of panic, anger, threat, frustration, pretense, greed and self center. Today we communicate more - and we loose more. We have lost emotions, care, respect, satisfaction and social manners.

Its time to break this addiction. Communicate less. Write letters, use pen and paper. Keep one TV in home and switch off your mobile phone at home.

No news is good news.