The inevitable march of time does not stop for anyone. A new year means that we will have change. From things as simple as a new number to write on the calendar, to purposeful changes, like New Year’s resolutions - we all face change. How we deal with change is more about our perspective, or mindset, and that...that is what determines how change will impact us.
A friend shared a photo on Instagram of a note on a jar that read: “If you fear change, leave it in the tip jar.” Basically saying, if you are afraid of change, leave it for someone else!
These words got me thinking... As we start our trek into the new year, things change, we can’t stop them. We can either get on board, or get left behind. If we fight change, we might as well just leave it for others. But just the fact that we have goals, means we need to face changes, and we don’t want to hold other people back, and we don’t want to hold ourselves back.
The idea made me think about changes mothers go through...we have little kids that maybe don’t allow us to have as much range time or hunting as we might like. And you know what? That will change. One day, our young children will be old enough to go on their first hunt with us, or trek to their first match or maybe just shoot a stage in a match. My youngest used to shoot one stage at Tuesday evening USPSA League, and fall asleep on the couch on the indoor range while we finished. It was perfect. And as he got older, things changed again and now he is out-shooting adults.
Change means not only do WE have the opportunity to do something different, but it means others have the chance to do something different too. Maybe that change we leave in the jar so to speak, is the chance someone else needs! Perhaps a grandfather who doesn’t have a hunting buddy can take our older child hunting because we are home with toddlers. Maybe the teenager who wants to learn about competition can join a friend to observe a match because we have to go to work. But don’t let change be something that gets you down, sometimes change is just an opportunity waiting…the fates hoping for us to see the silver dollar in a pile of coins we didn’t ask for.
Another little New Year’s gem that the wonderful world of social media plopped in front of me was a video with the author of Finite and Infinite Games. It’s a great topic and idea, namely that we are all involved in an infinitely changing “game” of life, but much of how the business world works is a finite system, with massive amounts of quantifying through the use of finite data. Our mindset, our willingness to change and adapt, to strive to evolve as we go ever forward in life is what will set apart the work we do. This concept really speaks to me, as a new way of saying, “You can’t solve problems with the same thinking that created them.” And you can’t gracefully sail through the decades of life if you focus on the finite. The author writes about these ideas related to business, how our perspective on challenges would elicit a more productive response if we looked at them as perpetual push for growth - if we stopped thinking about putting out fires or meeting deadlines and more about creating a culture that yields the things we want.
I think this is a great mindset for our personal time and challenges too! If we look at what we want to accomplish as part of the infinite - while we only have this one year and this one life, we want to live in a way that leaves a mark on down through the ages! We can’t do that if we refuse to change, if we get stuck in the finite. So I encourage you to make your new year one of change, or leaving change for others who can benefit; a year of looking ahead to the infinite possibilities that lie waiting for us, if only we recognize them for what they are!
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