Day 12: One Amazing, Surefire, & Easy Way To Change the World… Well, Maybe Two..
- For starters, avoid links that claim to have all the answers for you tied up neatly in a bow…
…don’t stop reading! Reason # 2 is legit…
In the course of these last 12 days, you’ve heard about Mansfield’s Four Maxims for achieving true manhood and how having a band of brothers is a critical part of striving for and living out that ideal. Within that, you’ve seen my quest for integrating that vision with 30 Days of Discipline and Body of a Spartan. We’ve learned some new things, some new ideas on how to view the world and our role in it. But now that we’ve learned about it, the question is: What are we going to DO with it?
Vision without action is merely a dream. Action without vision just passes the time. Vision with action can change the world. ~Joel A. Barker
But who said anything about changing the world? Aren’t we just looking for how to be more disciplined? Better men?
Is it crazy to think, though, that if we become better men, more disciplined, action-focused men that the world will be changed? When people set out to “change the world,” how do they do it? Think of all the lofty goals you’ve heard yourself or other people say when they talk about changing the world. Most of them are focused on large scale systemic issues like ending world poverty or hunger, or increasing educational opportunities. These are tremendous, idealistic, and noble goals. But how on earth are you supposed to accomplish them?
It seems like the natural reflex to look at and work towards changing the actions of other people to accomplish these goals, but think about it: How much control do you have over the actions of another person?
Of course, you can try to persuade them, motivate them, educate them on the righteousness of said action, incentivize the action that you want to see, or use governmental power to force the action under color of law, but the other person still has to decide whether or not they’ll actually do something.
On the other hand, can you think of someone whose actions you can influence immediately, with the snap of a finger?
Yea. You.
So just do it.
You’re looking for easy answers? They ain’t coming. It’s just that simple. We have to decide to do what’s hard, what’s uncomfortable, and what doesn’t come easy or natural, if we want to change.
Nothing in the world is worth having or worth doing unless it means effort, pain, difficulty…
~Theodore Roosevelt
Dig just a shred below the surface and you’ll see that no one can change the world without starting with at least one person. Dig deeper and you see that when you’ve changed the life of one person, you have already changed the world. That person whose life you changed? They’re living in the world, they’re part of it, their life matters. Whose life can you change most easily? Your own.
You can make excuses for why you can’t do it and you can complain about your circumstances all day. That’s something that we as human beings are great at. But you’re not helpless and you’re not a victim unless you choose to adopt that mindset.
Everyone has had unfairness in their life (yes, some more than others), that’s something that we all share, something that is common to all of humanity.
When you choose to be a victim based on the particular brand of unfairness in your life, you’re creating a world of self-imposed limitations for yourself. You’re building in excuses for failure and paralyzing yourself: “It’s someone else’s fault, I’ll can’t do anything because of x, y, z (and never me).” When you take on that victimhood, you’re giving up the power that you have to change and handing it over to someone or something else.
It’s also a choice; the easiest possible choice. It’s easy to place the blame for your circumstances on someone or something else, it protects our fragile ego and inflated sense of self from honest and hard truths. It’s hard to face life, to embrace the challenges of the day, to boldly put yourself out there and see if you sink or swim. But it’s also part of being a man, a woman, alive, free.
So what’s an easy way to change the world? Change yourself.
How?
This 30 Days is my way of trying. If you’ve been reading along, you know the reasons that I’m trying to change, and you know not I’m trusting in myself alone and my own power to make these changes, but instead, I’m trusting that God will give me the strength and perseverance to follow through each day.
Your way of changing doesn’t have to be my way. Try your own. Try something. See what works for you. Just don’t stand still. Keep moving.
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Quote of the Day
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Links to Past Episodes/Resources:
Introduction Day 1 Day 2 Day 3 Day 4 Day 5 Day 6 Day 7 Day 8 Day 9 Day 10
Manfield’s Book of Manly Men: An Utterly Invigorating Guide to Being Your Most Masculine Self
If you have any feedback, please send me a message or leave it on my Facebook page: Thirty Days. This is a new project and I’d love to hear your thoughts. It is a tremendous encouragement to know that someone is reading this. Encouragement, comments AND criticism are welcome.
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