Do Something Different

You have probably heard the term coined, “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results”. This quote reportedly said by Albert Einstein is one many of us have heard, usually used in regards to questioning ourselves or others for repeated negative behavior or actions.

We struggle with time management, but continue to scroll on our phones endlessly and then get upset when we didn’t finish the tasks we wanted for the day.

We stay up too late for the third night in a row watching a series on Netflix and then feel sleep deprived the next day when our alarm goes off.

We continue to eat too much sugar and then yell at ourselves, “This is the last time I am doing this!!”, all before doing it again the next day.

Yesterday, I went to a new church for the first time, which I had debated doing for some time now, due to fear. The fear of new people. The fear of a new building, fear of a new pastor, fear of a new style of worship, fear of a new style of preaching, fear of CHANGE. Change being the key part here. I knew for a number of months of needing to make this change, or at least to try something different, but I had my reasons and I certainly had my excuses, not to mention my long list of doubts of why it wouldn’t work out.

During those months (or really, up until yesterday) I had been battling feelings of discouragement and overall feeling disconnected but I thought these feelings were only temporary and would soon go away. But they didn’t. In fact, they didn’t go away at all, they only grew. If I had not told other people (trusted friends and family) what I was experiencing, I think I could have played it off and continued the same pattern of not dealing with my internal disconnection and continued on, until of course they arose again. Thankfully a message from a friend asking me about my experience of checking out “that new church” and what it was like, was the accountability I needed. It challenged me to actually do the uncomfortable and face my fear of change.

And I am so glad I did face it, even grudgingly showing up 10 minutes late as every nerve in my body was screaming “No!! Don’t do this!!!”.

Ironically, the sermon was on point for this internal conflict, titled “Do something different”. The pastor shared how if we want to change the outcomes of our lives, such as the issues within our marriage, our troubled jobs, the poor habits we have formed day and day out, but continue to get angry about the situation, we have to do something different. This might seem so simple, but then why is it so hard to do?

To paraphrase what Einstein quoted, Why continue to do the same thing over and over and then expect different results?

Fear. Fear is what limits us and our ability to make any change. Fear is paralyzing. Fear hates change and doesn’t allow us to do anything different. Fear says no, you are safe exactly where you are even if you don’t want to be where you are.

I am very blessed to say that after hearing a wonderful sermon, I ended up meeting three new people who were extremely friendly and inviting. I know for sure NONE of that would have happened if I didn’t take initiative and actually make the change to do something different.

Thoughts:

How has fear stopped you from making any changes?

Do you feel as though you are doing the same thing everyday and expecting different results?

What would it look like to do something different, even if its a small step towards something new?