Sunday, April 5, 2009
So you want "Change"?
So you want "Change"?
Barack Obama campaigned on the idea of "Change". He was going to change how the US was seen in the world, how we dealt with our own problems, and more. He was going to tear down to tired old "how it's always been done" walls and sweep in a new world.
So, less than 100 days in, people are screaming about "where's the change?".
First thing: Obama is the President, bound by law, constrained by decisions his predecessor made, and having to work with 2 unwilling to change branches of Congress. He is not a King, ruling by whim, whose every decree is law, descended from the gods on high. American's would do well to remember the difference. He can't just say it, will it into existence and it is so. He must work through the same tired systems, until they decide to change.
American's like the idea of change, yet continue to reelect the same people who cause all the problems, who are more concerned with keeping their jobs, than actually doing their job, which is to represent "We The People".
Maybe the problem is while we like to give lip service to the idea, we don't actually understand the idea, of "Change".
What is "Change"?
Change is the slaughtering of our "Sacred Cows", those outmoded beliefs, assumptions, practices, policies, systems, or strategies that inhibit change and prevent responsiveness to new ideas and opportunities.
What sacred cows? Some examples are the 40 hour work week, job security, holding 1 job until you die, retirement at 65, and single payer households. It is "How we always do things".
Change fails because while most of the ideas that come along sound nice, and make sense on paper, when it comes time to do it people dig in their heels and resist it. End result? Billions of dollars wasted and people get more jaded. The fail point in change is, people.
People have the power of change, or not-change. You've heard it. "Better the Devil you know....", "Who knows what will go wrong...", and so on. People say they want change, but when change comes along, they resist it, fight it, sabotage it and make excuses for it. Change opens up the unknown, it's uncomfortable, it's unpredictable and feels unsafe. "What if it fails?", "What if I get hurt", "What if?". People naturally resist change.
For Change to work, people must want Change, not just say they want it. They must be an active, willing & positive part of the whole process. One can't sit home at rest and wait for change to happen. One must move, become involved, participate, and help fuel change.
For change to happen, people need to be open to change. They must be receptive to it, to new ideas. They must be excited, not anxious about change. Be challenged, but not threatened, and commit to change as an ongoing process, not a final destination.
If you're good, you react quickly to change, but if you're great, you become the catalyst for change itself.
The old saying goes, if you want something to happen, make it happen, don't wait for it to find you.
If you like Obama's promises for change, then get involved and help him change the system and make the changes. If you don't like them, then get involved and make your own changes happen. Either way, don't sit home waiting for someone else to do it.
So you want "Change"?
So you want "Change"?
Barack Obama campaigned on the idea of "Change". He was going to change how the US was seen in the world, how we dealt with our own problems, and more. He was going to tear down to tired old "how it's always been done" walls and sweep in a new world.
So, less than 100 days in, people are screaming about "where's the change?".
First thing: Obama is the President, bound by law, constrained by decisions his predecessor made, and having to work with 2 unwilling to change branches of Congress. He is not a King, ruling by whim, whose every decree is law, descended from the gods on high. American's would do well to remember the difference. He can't just say it, will it into existence and it is so. He must work through the same tired systems, until they decide to change.
American's like the idea of change, yet continue to reelect the same people who cause all the problems, who are more concerned with keeping their jobs, than actually doing their job, which is to represent "We The People".
Maybe the problem is while we like to give lip service to the idea, we don't actually understand the idea, of "Change".
What is "Change"?
Change is the slaughtering of our "Sacred Cows", those outmoded beliefs, assumptions, practices, policies, systems, or strategies that inhibit change and prevent responsiveness to new ideas and opportunities.
What sacred cows? Some examples are the 40 hour work week, job security, holding 1 job until you die, retirement at 65, and single payer households. It is "How we always do things".
Change fails because while most of the ideas that come along sound nice, and make sense on paper, when it comes time to do it people dig in their heels and resist it. End result? Billions of dollars wasted and people get more jaded. The fail point in change is, people.
People have the power of change, or not-change. You've heard it. "Better the Devil you know....", "Who knows what will go wrong...", and so on. People say they want change, but when change comes along, they resist it, fight it, sabotage it and make excuses for it. Change opens up the unknown, it's uncomfortable, it's unpredictable and feels unsafe. "What if it fails?", "What if I get hurt", "What if?". People naturally resist change.
For Change to work, people must want Change, not just say they want it. They must be an active, willing & positive part of the whole process. One can't sit home at rest and wait for change to happen. One must move, become involved, participate, and help fuel change.
For change to happen, people need to be open to change. They must be receptive to it, to new ideas. They must be excited, not anxious about change. Be challenged, but not threatened, and commit to change as an ongoing process, not a final destination.
If you're good, you react quickly to change, but if you're great, you become the catalyst for change itself.
The old saying goes, if you want something to happen, make it happen, don't wait for it to find you.
If you like Obama's promises for change, then get involved and help him change the system and make the changes. If you don't like them, then get involved and make your own changes happen. Either way, don't sit home waiting for someone else to do it.
