Nothing great is ever accomplished or achieved by doing things the way they have always been done!
The challenge to the status quo always begins by asking ourselves some questions. Asking the right questions that challenge the old methods can breathe new life into whatever it is you and I need to work on. Here are just a few to consider.
- Why do I do things this way?
- In my personal life, what needs to be challenged?
- What can I improve on?
- What area of my life have I become complacent?
I learned something a long time ago that is a very simple yet profound statement. Here it is:
We can only correct what we are willing to confront!
We have to be willing to take a good, hard look at our life or the organization that we have been called to lead, and we have to be willing to recognize that there may be some things that have become stale or stagnant. We must be willing to challenge those areas in order for there to be growth and change.
I will admit that it is easier said than done. It is much easier to talk about it than it is to actually get out there and do something to make a difference. This is what separates the men from the boys so to speak. Those willing to challenge the status quo are the ones that usually accomplish and achieve more in life.
The tendency that most people have is to just put up with what they have always put up with. They buy into the lie that life is just about going with the flow and being normal. Don’t buck the system! Don’t challenge the process! Stay safe and comfortable! Let someone else do the hard work! Just lie down in the ruts you have created by your bad habits! I write more about this in my ebook RULE OF THUMB (check it out)
However, here is what I know about YOU – I know you were created for greater things than the status quo!
So what do we do? Here are some suggestions I have put into practice in my own life that may provide some steps to challenge the status quo.
YOU GOT TO MOVE – Anything that stays still long enough will grow stagnant and die. The same is true for us. You got to get up and start taking some steps. We were never created to just exist and become stagnate. In fact we were created to be a movement and not a monument
The thing that moves people to act beyond what they are currently doing is a vision to do something so compelling that it forces them to change their behaviors in ways that would make it so. ~John Jantsch
DON’T BE AFRAID TO TO TAKE RISKS – You will never know until you try. Don’t be afraid to venture out and try something new, something that challenges the status quo. Playing it safe never truly works out for anyone. Living life by taking calculated risks is an adventure. Sure one may fail but one may also succeed! I guess it boils down to your perspective on what it means to taking a risk
Often the difference between a successful person and a failure is not one has better abilities or ideas, but the courage that one has to bet on one’s ideas, to take a calculated risk – and act. ~Andrew Malraux
SURROUND YOURSELF WITH PEOPLE THAT WILL STRETCH YOU – One of the principles I share with young people across the nation is this: Show me your friends and I will show you your future! Who you associate with is often who you become. Life truly moves at the speed of relationships. Those we allow to have access into our lives are the very ones that will shape our lives. Choose wisely. Surround yourself with people that make you want to be better at who you are. I like to golf and I like to play golf with people better than me. Why? Because I want to get better, I want to be stretched. It is the same in life. Make sure you have those in your life that always challenge you to become a better person. (You can read more about this in my new book, The HandBook: Five Forces To Form Your Future in digital format )
As you step into your future I trust that you will examine the trajectory of your life and see if there is any room for improvement. There is a world waiting on someone to make a difference. It might as well be YOU!Darin Sargent
