One thing we like is comfort and we find comfort in what is familiar to us, but to grow we must be willing to make a shift and change from our norm and gain a new perspective on how we see things or how we have been conducting usual business.
Yesterday, I went out for my usual walk. I began my usual routine to start out my day. There is a particular path that I like to take because it suits my needs, wants, and desires. I like what I see along this path. It is serene, no disturbances, only the occasional passerby who are also out walking or biking and everyone waves and smiles as they go by. There is always a slight breeze you catch as you walk down certain paths with the mountains behind you. The key is to walk out there early because there is not much shade and this is Arizona so it does get warm early in the day.
So, yesterday, as I am starting out doing my routine, things begin to shift. First, I get out a little later than planned. Not too much of a big deal, right? I’m a little moved by that as I have many things to get to this day. My schedule is a little thrown off, but I am going to move forward. Then as I started out on my path I like to take, I come across a huge snake.
Yes, I said SNAKE! This thing is sitting upright like it is greeting me across the path I must walk. Yeah, I am like, “no sir, you have this path today. I am not here for this!”
Stopped in my tracks, because I do not fool with snakes, I backed up, turned around and rerouted my walk.
I ended up taking a path I would not have normally taken this morning, because I was forced to shift directions and try something new. I could have stopped and gone back home. I could have said, well, it’s already later than I wanted to start and I cannot go the way I wanted to so what is the point, but I decided that none of that mattered. What mattered is that I moved forward in the walk.
Sometimes we get so caught up in doing the familiar. We get so caught up in our routines that when something comes along and deters us or tries to make us shift from our norm, we run from it. We refuse to embrace the shift, embrace the change. We are unable to see that there is more than one way of doing, seeing, or accomplishing a task, a goal, or a mission.
Far too often this happens to us as leaders, parents, or influencers. We are used to carrying “the load” and having a certain way of accomplishing a task. When opportunities avail themselves, to help those we are called to lead, we are too often the barrier or roadblock of allowing those opportunities to get to the individuals because we fail to shift. We believe there is only one way of accomplishing a goal or task. We have been accustomed to “doing business” a certain way that we desire, in our set routines. When something comes along to present a challenge, we are unable to shift, therefore we stop dead in our tracks, unable to regroup and see alternative solutions. We see our routines as the only way which stops progress, but if we think about that for a second what does that say about our operations? It says that, if I am not present, nothing can exist without me and everyone suffers. This is not how any operation should be.
When we are placed in leadership roles, in positions of influence, we should be replicating ourselves (so to speak). My mother would always say, “one monkey don’t stop a show.”
Stop letting our people suffer because we are too busy controlling the reigns and not providing space for them to grow and carry on when we are not available. Stop thinking that only one person needs to carry the weight of an operation, a ministry, a household or community. Start teaching the value of teamwork, community, and true leadership.
It is time for a shift, it is time for a change.
It is time to leave routines. Pass on batons, so we can move beyond stumbling blocks and barriers and carry on with our missions and accomplish our goals.
No one man can accomplish everything alone!
Rethink Progress
