Initial Thoughts On Change

I remember the Sony Walkman. I used mine all the time especially since I'd been collecting music on cassette tapes since I was in high school and amassed quite a collection. I could go on walks or mow the lawn and listen to music I liked as long as I had two "AA" batteries hanging out.

Then I went to the Discman. The change to CD's was slow (as I was a grownup and had less cash to go to music) and there were some issues in that the CD's would "skip" when you went jogging or mowed. Even if you had a player that had memory to prevent skips there could still be delays. I still had a Walkman laying around if there was music I hadn't gotten on CD yet for the chores.

But I was happy with the Discman, too. So much so that I more or less resisted the iPod when it came out. It was a position of ignorance, really. I didn't believe the iPod was much of an immprovement. I didn't know iTunes made saving music easier...that I wouldn't have to "repurchase" the music. I'd taken a very firm stance on "file sharing" which I still maintain is piracy and actually hurts the artists (and the arts in general). Yes, even Metallica. So, I resisted the change.

Until I got one. I really enjoy it. It's better than I imagined and I still didn't use mine to do everyting it would do. But now I'm sold.

But did you notice the common thread?

In order to get sold on "change," I had to change the way I thought about those consumer products. The Walkman was convenient and fit my lifestyle. The Discman had drawbacks and required a bit more financial involvement, but the sound was clearer and better and since everything was goinng to CD anyway, it worked. And once somebody plugged in an iPod and showed me what it would do, I was in, man.

My experiences with each affected the way I thought about those things. Like if your favorite tape got "eaten" by the Walkman, well...then you realized that the CD had some advantages. Until one got scratched or the Discman skipped or froze. And then the iPod works well until you realize that the hard drives last only so long and the machine will only charge so many times. Hello, service contract.

It's really about how we think about those things. True change comes from a process, I think. First you have to consider the facts. You get information from varieties of sources and personal insights. So, for example, the Zune (Microsoft's challenger to the iPod) might be superior in many ways and have a few better features than the Apple product, but there are terrible drawbacks because they hit the market later and everybody was already on iTunes--which is NOT compatible with Zune. So, first I consider facts.

Then, I gain a true conviction. I really do believe a certain thing after my brain processes all the information. So, for example, after I consider the facts, I determine the iPod to be the better machine for me and what I'm using it for.

Finally, I change my mind. The facts led me to a conviction...and then my thought process changes. This changes my behavior. So, unless I get more information to consider, I'll be an iPod guy. You won't find me in the gym or mowing the yard using any other Mp3 player.

(at this point, every one of you should be glad I didn't go with what I intended to use to illustrate the point, that of my significant change from a conspiracy position in the JFK assasination to the lone gunman position. Man, could I EVER have gone on and on about it)

The next step is to analyze my motivation...and this is where it gets kind of ugly. Because generally speaking, my motivation is to please myself.

So, let's say that I want to go on a diet for all the right reasons. I've considered the facts, I've become a believer, and changed my mind about the food I've been eating. So, I go to the restaurant and I have a choice of a salad or a double cheeseburger. I KNOW the right thing to do and am convinced it's best for me, but what I really want is to please myself and have the more enjoyable meal for me.

Hence, in my initial thinking on this, I believe the biggest hinderance to change is selfishness.

So, we suburban dweller all might agree that using public transportation is best for society for a myriad of reasons...but we're not likely to make the effort to design our lives in such a way to do so unless we truly change the way we think (New York readers of The Diner are obviously exempt). It's a sacrifice we don't want to make.

Or, we KNOW that cellphone usage while driving or at a restaurant with friends is a distraction, but yet we view our personal desire to use the phone as more important than being a responsible citizen to other drivers or that our time with our desire to text message our kid is more important than our seat-neighbor's view of the movie.

Or, if we're believers in the Bible, we know what Scripture says about sex outside of the marriage relationship. But, our desire overrides that.

Or, I might know that I need to go to the gym, but I FEEL like lounging around and doing nothing because it's what I want to do.

Or, I might know that many of the things that go on at my church are really just a matter of personal preference and don't really matter...such as nametags pre-printed or if I have to write my own (or my personal preference, do away with them altogether) or lighting or chair arrangement, or worship music--song or style--choices are really no big deal in the scheme of things, I get upset when it doesn't go the way I prefer them.

I could go on and on...but I think you get the point.

The biggest factors in change involve the way I think, and this has to be reinforced by denying myself and finding ways to serve.

Let's use my struggles with diet. I generally know the right things to do regarding wise food choices. But let's say I do a lot of research and REALLY get involved in that area of my lifestyle. I know the right thing to do and believe it's best for my long-term health.

But then that cheeseburger with onion rings thing becomes a choice.

Maybe I decide that even though I really want that cheeseburger...it's better for me to serve my wife and kids by being healthier. Now, that doesn't mean I can't ever have a cheeseburger again...it just means that I'm making a choice to serve in the big picture. That I deny myself in order to serve my family. (yes, I see where the illustration falls short)

Then, this is where the baby steps several of you mentioned come into play. Let's say I have the salad and soup instead. And I start excercising, too. And I get to bed at a decent hour. And I do it for a week.

I have better energy levels at work that week and I begin to feel better. This gives me more information to discern, which becomes an even stronger conviction. Now my experience of "successful" baby steps reinforces the change.

I realize that it's been a long way to explain my thoughts, but ultimately I think lasting, meaningful, & true change comes from correct conviction (change is always "inside out" and not "outside in") and denial of self. And then reinforcement allows for long-lasting response.

So...now that's out there. What do you think? Like I said, these are my initial thoughts on it and not set in stone...

*pours more coffee*
*opens The Diner later than usual*
*but still waits*