I was re-reading a book that a dear friend gave me,
“Coaching To The Human Soul”…
A book that touches on a philosophy of coaching and human development, that in my opinion, is at the heart of any all development, maturing and evolution of human beings…
That book was a unique gift that I will treasure always.
Less so, because it gives me new ideas, and much more so because it emboldens me and energize me to be more true to who I am and how I am… Reading thoughts you hold so dear and so deeply true, written by someone who has dedicated their life to the competence of developing human beings affirms my values… and in many ways my being.
But, I digress…
I read a quote in the introduction from W. Edwards Deming, one of my heroes…
"Nothing changes without personal transformation.”
I’ve been sharing that quote every day since with people I work with… in all different types of settings and situations.
It’s such a simple concept- and yet, one that we so often ignore or discount.
NOTHING
not a thing
CHANGES
improves
WITHOUT
PERSONAL
TRANSFORMATION…
without
YOU
changing, evolving, maturing, growing…
WHY?
It speaks to that other quote from the amazing Einstein who says…
“We can't solve problems by using the same kind of thinking we used when we created them.”
Every day I run into people, often yours truly, who wants the world to change
WITHOUT
holding myself accountable to changing first!
Anything in my life or my work, that I want to make better, requires FIRST that I become better!
It’s the old lesson from accountability books, “First, look in the mirror”…
It is an absolute truth for two reasons…
We can ultimately ONLY change and evolve ourselves… nobody else.
The best, and often only, chance we have at influencing anyone else to change, is to show them by example that it’s possible…
And, selfishly… as long as I keep growing and transforming, I create new paths forward for myself… In many cases in my life, my own personal growth and transformation has shown me that the problems I was trying to solve were unnecessary to solve… I just had to appreciate them and understand them differently.
My own personal growth and transformation has shown me that the “problems” i have often been trying to solve, were not problems per se, but my own interpretation or perspective on situations…
And, sure, in many cases the things I was trying to solve either became irrelevant, because I found a different path forward, or I saw that by own transformation I was able to influence others to show up differently, or by my own transformation I was able to confront the truth of the situation with greater courage, objectivity and candor - and create a different level of understanding from others and resulting behavior…
In any case, asking the rest of the world to solve my problems or the problems I choose as important is disempowering… it leaves my own POWER on the sidelines… It makes me vulnerable and at the mercy of others… And, that never feels good…
We seek growth… as human beings… in every aspect of our lives. If we are awake. If we are engaged.
“Nothing happens without personal transformation.”
It starts with me…
It always does.
Not because I am more important.
Not because I am more competent.
But simply because…
it does…
It all starts in my mind…
(as it starts in yours)
in my thoughts…
in my want…
in my heart…
in my dreams…
even in my fears…
And, you can’t solve a problem with the same mind, in the same state, as you were in to conceive it…
It starts with me…
as it starts with you.
“Nothing changes without personal transformation.”
How exciting that today,
I get the opportunity
to transform
to grow
to evolve
yet
again!
Everything starts here…
Everything starts now…
Everything starts
with
me!
in harmony,
Nestor