Break the Mold

Finding Your Real Strengths

 

Bob excelled at math in school.  He graduated high school and enrolled in a couple computer science classes during his freshman year of college. Computers, like math, came easy for Bob. He decided to major in computer science since it seemed like a great fit for his strengths.  He graduated and secured a great entry level job as a computer programmer.

A year after graduation, Bob is already bored with his job. He is tired of the daily monotony. During the work day, he is nowhere as productive as he was when he first started.  He procrastinates by researching new parts for his car.  When Bob was young, his father and him fixed up cars together. As he grew up, this hobby continues to be fun for Bob and much of his free time is spent working on his car.  

Several years out of college, Bob gets married to a lovely woman.  Not long after they are married, the baby train arrives.  At this point, Bob is still bored with his job, but doesn’t see any other option.  His training is in computer programming and working for another company isn’t going to solve this program.  He stays put knowing he is able to support his family which is his top priority.  

Does any of this sound familiar? Does this scenario remind you of a friend, family member or maybe yourself?

 

Live an Honest Life

photo © 2005 marya | more info (via: Wylio)

Take a minute and think of all the conversations over the past twenty four hours.  

Was everything you said completely truthful and honest?

I bet it wasn't.  

From the time we are sitting in class in kindergarten to decades later as we sit at a desk in our office, a message is being transmitted to us. This message is telling white lies is okay and that dishonesty is acceptable in our society. We turn our televisions and watch programming where children and adults lie to get or stay out of trouble. We overhear our parents or family members being dishonest with one another from time to time. Before we know it, we grow up thinking that being dishonest is acceptable. We copy homework in school. When we don't want to meet up with our friends, we make up an excuse instead of being honest. We end relationships with our boyfriends and girlfriends under false pretenses, telling them that we are not ready for a relationship when really we just are not in love with them.

This culture of dishonesty pervades our lives at every turn, in our relationships with family, friends and coworkers. Perhaps the worst part is that we can arrive at a point in our lives where we don't even realize we are doing it anymore. We may not have harmful intentions, yet the white lies fly out of our mouths without any thought.

I am striving to break free of the culture of dishonesty and live differently. It's not easy to institute this radical change of honesty, so I've compiled some suggestions to help you seek a new way of life.

 

The Guide to Radical Change

photo © 1963 The U.S. National Archives | more info (via: Wylio)

 

Today we celebrate the life of Martin Luther King Jr., a man who sought radical change and transformation for his country. Martin Luther King knew that the system was broken in the United States.  He understood his country needed radical change to fight the culture of racism and transform this country into something better.  As we celebrate his life, let’s honor him by instituting radical change in our lives to make this world a better place.

This is the final post in the four part series on radical change. We started off this series by acknowledging that often we try to enact change in our lives, but we are unsuccessful because there isn’t an easy fix for a broken system.  Once you realize what system isn’t working in your life, then you can start to make progress for change.  On Thursday, some of my favorite writers wrote about the catalysts to institute radical change in their lives.  They wrote about how one change snowballed into a life transformation to live and think differently.  But through all of these posts, the most important question remains:

How do you enact radical change in your life?

The Catalyst for Radical Change

photo © 2010 Schristia | more info (via: Wylio)

Today's post is the third post in a series on radical change. The first post, The System is Broken reminds us that radical change isn't a quick easy fix.  The second post, What System is Broken? challenges you to figure out why you aren't successful at instituting radical change.

Break the Mold is about thinking and living differently than the masses. It’s about instituting radical change to find peace and joy in your life on a daily basis. However, sometimes we know our system is broken and want to change, but feel overwhelmed about where to start.  We want to live differently and break the mold, but it’s difficult when we are surrounded by people who are living the status quo life.

The question is how and where do you start? 

I went to my favorite writers (Chris Guillebeau, Everett Bogue, Adam Baker, Nina Yau, Steve Kamb and more) who transformed their lives by thinking and living differently. I wanted to find out what sparked the changes. Was it a specific moment or a gradual process?  What was the first aspect to transform: finances, possessions, relationships, career? 

I asked three questions:

1. What was the catalyst for you to institute radical change in your life to live and think differently than the norm? 

2. How did this radical change serve as the tipping point to transform your life?

3. What was the most difficult aspect of transforming your life and rejecting the status quo?

 

Here are their stories.  I hope they inspire and challenge you to take action and transform your life. 

What System is Broken?

photo © 2009 Giuseppe Giuliano | more info (via: Wylio)

 

Today's post is the second in a series on radical change and transformation.  You can find the first post, The System is Broken here. Also, tell your story on twitter with the #radicalchange tag.

 

In 2011, Jill wants to live a healthy lifestyle. This entails losing some weight, modifying her diet and getting into great shape so she can run a 5k by May. This has been a reoccurring goal in Jill’s life: to be healthy and fit.  Jill starts the year off well with a diet and exercise plan. By March, she lost 10lbs and is feeling much better about herself and life. However, when April rolls around, life gets busy. Tax season. Her kids start baseball practice. She gets handed a significant project at work that makes her work longer hours. By the end of April, she gained the weight back and lost her momentum.

What’s wrong with the scenario? Why wasn’t Jill successful?

The problem wasn’t that Jill didn’t know how to reach her goals of being healthy.  She knew what she had to do, she knew how to be successful. The problem was that Jill didn’t know how to prioritize. She didn’t know how to successfully manage her life through the slow and busy times. That was her broken system.

In the first post in this series on radical change, we learned that often we try to attempt change, but are unsuccessful because we are living in a broken system. We try quick and easy fixes to change our lives, but fail. The first step to radical change and transformation is to examine your goals and dreams and consequently, why you haven’t succeeded in reaching these goals. You need to figure out what system is broken.