People always make the mistake of making resolutions as a new year looms. It seems these resolutions are doomed to failure even before they are made. I want to tell you why so maybe as you set about making resolutions for 2012 maybe you will have a chance at success.
We are always enamored with “fixes” for our problems. Fixes from programs that promise 25 pounds of weight loss in a week (quick fix) or pragmatic fixes like how to become a more effective person “The 7 Habits” fix hoping that will change you to a better person.
Problem: How do I change? Answer: Find a program to follow and use it to fix me.
Sorry. It just isn’t that easy. We as humans love to organize and categorize so everything is neat and explainable. The unfortunate thing is the world around us refuses to abide by our rules. When I teach kids in Sunday School I use a rather unorthodox method to show them God exists. I explain that there are two kinds of geometry. The fist is Euclidean geometry. To make it simple for the kids I call it ‘Man’s Geometry.’ I tell them to look around the room. Straight walls, perfect angles, squares, rectangles, triangles; the geometry man uses to build houses, buildings and roads. It can describe the curvature of a car body and the angles of the Washington Monument.
Then I ask, what geometry is used to explain a leaf or cloud? Blank faces. I tell them Fractal geometry is used. Inside Fractal geometry is Chaos Theory but don’t be confused. This chaos is not “a state of things in which chance is supreme.” Chaos is organized and can be understood if we can just do it. A leaf, a cloud, ‘God’s Geometry.’ We can’t build anything with it. At least not yet.
Think about it. We apply our logic to solving our personal problems when the problems are more like a cloud than a house. Do we really understand what causes bad habits or how to change them? Psychiatrist ‘s, therapist, science, try but a good psychiatrist will tell you we just don’t know. We now have a glimpse into the brain and find it is plastic and changeable. That pathways that cause actions are real neural pathways and if a habit is to be changed you must cut that path and start putting in new wiring.
To ignore this will assure you of failure. Think about this. You will need to work and work everyday (practice) to build that new path. Then, after time, you will be a different person. Happy New Year.
©2011 by Wood Dickinson
Posted in clouds, Hope, resolutions, Wood Dickinson
Tags: 7 habits, change, chaos theory, God, New Year, resolutions, Wood Dickinson, writing
