It never ceases to amaze me how we subtly become so resistant to any change in our lives. A box and a bench recently reminded me of this in my own life. I'm a garage-workout-warrior six days per week. It would not be hard to accuse me of a slightly unhealthy addiction to this. I would justify it with my obnoxious 'never miss' mantra that you can read about here. What I love about all of it though is the way it continues to expose me to new thoughts or remind me of old thoughts. This is where the box and the bench come in.
I had planned a particular workout that involved a box I have in my garage. However, my family had allocated the box to some other project in the house and I was not happy about not being able to use my box! Internally, I grumbled, complained, and whined about my pursuit of fitness being interrupted because I could not use my box (a total overreaction and possible evidence of an unhealthy commitment to fitness, but I digress). I begrudgingly adjusted my plan to utilize a bench. Guess what? I loved the bench. Loved it more than the box. I won't ever use the box for that activity again. The bench is much, much better. As I came to realize this, I chuckled to myself (I spend a lot of time in the garage alone so emotional reactions to myself are not unusual) about how stuck in my ways I had become and how great change is.
I came away with three important ways to evaluate if you're losing an open mind...
1. Overreaction to minor changes.
2. The overuse of the word 'my' when faced with an unexpected change.
3. An inability to admit that the change was as good if not better than your current methods. (this blog is helping me keep an open mind.)
What about you? In what way are you avoiding or resisting a change in your life that might actually be better than your current situation? Keep an eye out for 'boxes and benches' in your own life.
I had planned a particular workout that involved a box I have in my garage. However, my family had allocated the box to some other project in the house and I was not happy about not being able to use my box! Internally, I grumbled, complained, and whined about my pursuit of fitness being interrupted because I could not use my box (a total overreaction and possible evidence of an unhealthy commitment to fitness, but I digress). I begrudgingly adjusted my plan to utilize a bench. Guess what? I loved the bench. Loved it more than the box. I won't ever use the box for that activity again. The bench is much, much better. As I came to realize this, I chuckled to myself (I spend a lot of time in the garage alone so emotional reactions to myself are not unusual) about how stuck in my ways I had become and how great change is.
I came away with three important ways to evaluate if you're losing an open mind...
1. Overreaction to minor changes.
2. The overuse of the word 'my' when faced with an unexpected change.
3. An inability to admit that the change was as good if not better than your current methods. (this blog is helping me keep an open mind.)
What about you? In what way are you avoiding or resisting a change in your life that might actually be better than your current situation? Keep an eye out for 'boxes and benches' in your own life.
‘Bite Down and Don’t Let Go’ is a collection of writings on
being intentional about life in a way that produces great persistence. Read
about it more here.
Dr. Chris Hobbs is an educational leader and Director
of Athletics at The King’s Academy in West Palm Beach, Florida. He’s earned a few
degrees and won some awards. He’s happily married to his high school
sweetheart and they have three teen age children. Life is messy and complicated
most of the time. You can follow him on Twitter
for all sorts of inspirational thoughts and good laughs.
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