Don't Stop...Start
Nature abhors a vacuum. François Rabelais (1494-1553)
Frustrated in your attempts to introduce change? Try applying this wisdom from FastCompany for changing individuals to changing groups, teams, churches and organizations:
If you want to change something in your life, it's common to try to stop the behaviors you don't like. While this certainly seems logical, it seldom works. The reason is simple - it unintentionally creates a vacuum where the old behaviors used to be. And since nature hates a vacuum it will fill it with anything it can find - usually the very behaviors you're trying to stop since they're so familiar. Instead of stopping certain behaviors, try focusing on what you want to create - and the new behaviors you need to get there. Eventually, with practice, new behaviors will develop enough muscle to naturally replace the old ones.
Try This:
- Notice any place in your life where you say you've got to stop doing something.
- Shift your mind to think about what you need to start doing in that area.
- Be specific. Write down the exact things you want to do.
- Don't admonish yourself for doing the old behaviors, rather stay focused on starting the new ones and the old ones will diminish on their own.
FastCompany: Don't Stop. . . Start
Insight: movements don't advance by trying to rescue dying institutions. They advance by creating the new.
