Change. Shotgun-style.
I have another challenge, too. (To be perfectly honest, I say “challenge” because there are a lot of very smart and respectable people who would not recommend my method. I am not convinced of their way, but to be fair, I am listening…) My challenge is that I approach change with shotgun-like precision. In other words, I am shooting for everything that needs to be changed all at once.
I will try to draw a parallel.
We live in a new phase of our residential community, and therefore we often have trash from construction sites blowing into our yard. When I look out back I see a piece of trash, but that isn’t all. I also see weeds sprouting from under my neighbor’s fence, my kids’ soccer ball, a patio chair out of place, and geraniums in need of dead-heading.
I see that there is more to do than just pick up the trash. So, the question becomes whether or not to make a single trip out back to take care of everything now, or to grab only the trash this time out and take care of the other things at a later date.
Priorities. I agree.
The question I have is this: Is it a matter of prioritizing the individual opportunities and their timing? Or, is it a matter of prioritizing and maximizing the results of a singular, more broad and immediate effort?
Let me present it another way.
My shotgun solution is to take all of these on at once. Why wait? If I have identified these things as opportunities, then they are relevant and valuable. Besides, I am in the business of taking advantage of opportunities to improve and to progress, not missing out on them.
In all honesty, it is overwhelming, exhausting, stressful and incredibly daunting to approach things this way, but it’s what I know. Maybe it’s a shortcoming. Maybe its due to a lack of patience, discipline, or even focus.
Or, maybe this approach nets a lot of positive results in a short amount of time. And maybe, just maybe, people are more resilient to change than we give them credit for.
