Change is Difficult!

I recently read an article about “What kind of man does the world need,” and the author said something that really made me think, so I wanted to share it here. He said,

“Often, it’s easier to finish a negative statement, identifying something by what it is not. Why? Because it is easier to tear something down or identify what is wrong with something than to build something up and identify what is right. (This holds true for both some-things and some-ones.)”

When you think about it, he is correct. Yet, I would say that there are times when people point out what is wrong (negative) without a complete understanding of the situation or true insight. These armchair quarterbacks have all the answers… at least, they think they do. In this case, the solutions are superficial and poorly thought out for real change.

For example, we all think we can do better at coaching our favorite team, and if they would listen to our suggestions, they would win more. So and so needs to be benched, or this guy needs to play more. The answer is so simple that it is amazing how the coach cannot see the right solution. After all, all my friends and I cannot be wrong about this one!

I do not know the game's dynamics; I have never played professional sports. Likewise, I do not know the individual players' qualities or what the coaching team does daily to help them improve. I don’t know the players' health status or what is going on in their lives that might affect their performance.

What I am saying is that for us to be positive and seek real change, we must have insight, discernment, understanding, and patience. In order for constructive transformation to produce lasting change, we have to completely change our mindset from negative (against the Status Quo) to one that sees the positive side and potential.

For many years now, Tammy and I have had a working philosophy that goes like this:

“Turn the Negatives into Positive, and Accentuate the Positives.”

I honestly think we saw it somewhere and adopted it, but I cannot remember from where. But it is a powerful way of thinking. Instead of dwelling on what does not work, think about the good stuff and how that can be improved, then promote that part of the process (celebrate the success).

Let me give you a real-world example. When we had a food pantry program in Nevada, a man participated in receiving the donations. He would constantly complain about what we were giving out and gave his input about how to fix the issue. One day, we asked him to volunteer with us and help us sort the food and make up the bags to give out to people who came to the pantry. He agreed to help the next week.

It did not take long for him to see how much food came into our program, the number of people who needed our help each week, and how we needed to stretch the food out to help the greatest number of people. A few weeks later, we overheard him telling someone with the same complaint he once gave us, "This is all we have, and we have to make it work.” He turned from being a negative into a positive, and we celebrated him for his hard work in the ministry.

How can you be proactive in your life to take the negatives and turn them into positives, then celebrate the progress? The outcome does not have to be huge; we celebrate every step of the way because every step moves in the right direction.

Tomorrow, I will give you practical ways for this principle to come alive in your personal life.