Spring! It’s that time of year where things really start to change. The days get longer, the weather gets warmer, and color begins to fill our landscape. Besides my terrible allergies to pollen, I love Spring! The dormancy of winter gives way as new life springs forth all around us, and change is in the air!
Over the years, I’ve learned a few lessons from nature that have helped me grow in my personal life. The funny thing about seasons, whether you like it or not, they will change. Similarly, our lives are filled with change, we either embrace it or resist it. The irony is that most of the change we attempt to resist will change whether we like it or not. I’m not saying that I’m a proponent of changing for the sake of change, but I have a friend that still has a “flip phone.” That would not necessarily be a bad thing if he was intentional about why he doesn’t have a smart phone, but he’s just being resistant to change. In fact, sometimes I wish I didn’t have so much technology and instant access to the world in my hands. I’m old enough to remember the days when we sat around and talked as a family without everyone having a phone in their hands. Too much change, too fast can cause us to loose sight of some fundamentals and principals that should never change, like quality time with family.
My favorite oxymoron is “Change is here to stay!” This is a reality that we must face, but as leaders we must embrace change in a healthy way. Embracing change is good, but because the rate of change is increasing we may need to establish rules or disciplines to protect us from neglecting what is most important. With my oldest daughter recently getting one of our old phones, we made a rule that there will be no phones at the kitchen table while we are eating dinner. I personally established a discipline to help me be “present when present” at home; I will not answer a text, email or phone call between 6-10pm. In order for me to let go of my addiction to looking at my phone every time it makes a noise, I had to tell my leaders in my business that if there is an emergency to call me twice in a row. Establishing rules and disciplines help us hold on to what is most important while embracing change.
