Change Theory

Change is hard.

In my yearly time of reflection afforded me by my two week break from teaching, I've once again been trying to consider what to change. I want to live on purpose, to take account of what is going well and what isn't, to actively pursue excellence in my experiences rather than rest on the laurels of the status quo. I am not living perfectly, or even at times competently; and these two weeks always give me a chance to stop checking papers, stop watching game film, stop writing grad papers, and decide on a game plan for the next few months.

The question I must answer is whether or not there can be a change to the game plan. You change strategy when you want a different result. Do I want a different result? I ask this because I am realizing more and more that change always costs something. My life and my time are full. All of ours is. We all spend our time and energy on something, filling our days with whatever we choose to fill them with. That might be video games, mission trips, Facebook, movies, yoga, work, or some complex combination of it all. If my goal for change is to be better at video games, I can't just spend more time on that. I've got to spend less time on something, perhaps yoga, in order to invest the time in video games. There is a cost.

To put it in basketball terms, when we put together a game plan, we cannot have it all. We cannot score all our points on the perimeter and all our points in the post. We cannot focus all our practice time on offense and all of defense. We can't double team every player on the other team. We have to choose. What are we willing to give up in order to get what we most want? What balance do we require in order to give ourselves the best chance to win?

That's where I'm at right now. I want live better at certain aspects of my life than I am right now. What am I willing to give up, though? What do I value with my time now that I can afford to sacrifice? I don't have a good answer. The danger with changing because it's a new year and it's time to change is not taking into account the costs or what will be sacrificed. If I dive headlong into the proposed changes, it might cost me something that brings me great joy now. Therefore, part of the consideration for change has to be, "What have I been doing well? What actions or priorities am I absolutely unwilling to part with?"

This year I hope for positive change, for all of you and for myself as well. May we all be wise in our game-planning.