Tuesday December 20, 2011
A very good friend of mine, who I’ve known for over 20 years, has been struggling in an area of her life for about the past several years. I speak with her regularly and, at least once a month, we have the same type of conversation that has been occurring for years. She is rehashing the same situation to me that she is frustrated about… almost the same exact details only on a different day, in a different month, in a different year.
If I recall back to when things started to go awry for her, I realize that as much as she has indicated (quite passionately) over the past several years how she wants things to change, her life is pretty much the same as it was when this all began. I know she has tried to shift her focus to more positive aspects in her life and she actually spends a lot of time doing that (focusing on the positive), yet, from what I can see, her actions have not changed. She is still pretty much living and behaving in ways that perpetuate her situation. Despite her desire for different results, she is in the same situation because she has not done anything different. It is a true match to Albert Einstein’s definition of insanity: “Doing the same thing over and over yet expecting different results.”
Now, of course, I am an outsider and only know what she shares with me so perhaps she is doing things differently; however, I believe that if she were, her results today might be different than they’ve been in the past. And, from what I can see and from what she says, they are not.
It’s the same thing with any one of us looking to change something in our life, in our career or in how we lead others. If we want different results, we must do things differently. More of the same will give us more of the same. Are you unhappy with the results you’ve been getting in your leadership role? Then it’s time to look at what you’re doing and do something different. Are you unhappy with your current job or career path? Then stop doing what you are doing today and do something new. Sometimes it’s easy to sit back and complain about what we don’t like or what’s not working. Eventually though, it does get old and the fact remains that if you are that unhappy and truly do want a change, you will need to do something different. If not, don’t be surprised if you are still in the same situation year after year, just like my friend.
It’s the end of the year and a perfect time to think of what you want to change in 2012. So, what do you want to be different? And, what will you do differently to get there?
C3 will be on a “blog hiatus” next week – look for new posts after the new year!
