Change Doesn’t Happen By Chance
When I look at my life through the lens of change, I realize there have been about 5 major changes in who I am today. Each one was a building block to who I became. Even with all this change, I know I have a lot of improvements to make. Here are the major shifts I’ve made in my life.
I realized before my junior year of high school that if I didn’t do something different, I would end up like the kids 2-4 years older than me and still be hanging out in my hometown. I wasn’t ok with that and decided I need to have different priorities.
Being indoctrinated to the Army and arriving at the 75th Ranger Regiment. To stay in this organization, I needed to up my game and always give 110%.
When MSG Josh Wheeler came into my life and realized I needed to treat being a Ranger as a profession. The military isn’t just a job, as a leader people expect you to know more and to constantly seek improvement.
When I had time to unpack my time in Ranger Regiment while serving at ROTC at UW. I realized a lot of the holes in my leadership game. I needed to apply a structured approach to how I developed other leaders. It needed to be a calendar event with progressive structure.
The realization that to be a different person, I needed to apply the same thought process as I did to others. It needed to be structured and mapped out. I can’t simply say; “I want to be better”. However, I needed to be patient and realize it’s a process.
Why does this matter and what is the value in breaking these down?
In the military we have After-Action Reviews. We conduct these after training events or even combat operations. The purpose is to identify the good, the bad, and the ugly of the different phases. Doing so allows us to have a specific and structured approach to our analysis of the event.
I believe we can do the same with our life, we can unpack the different parts and look at them with time and wisdom. Doing this will show us how these have laid the framework to major changes in our life and the lessons we learned. From there, we can incorporate them and ensure we don’t repeat mistakes. As I look at mine, I realize these fundamentals that are the cornerstone to my life.
Don’t settle and realize you are the product of the people you spend the most time with.
Expect more and surround yourself with people that make you better.
I can be a means for change in others, the first step is leading by personal example. An added lesson was to appreciate the people that impact your life and some day they might not be around anymore.
Develop leaders and not followers, it’s ok to pause occasionally to unpack your shit.
Learning and self-improvement is a lifelong journey. It won’t happen by chance.
Everything I do in this life is structured around those moments that turned into principles. I encourage everyone to do the same. Think about your life and what moments have changed you forever. Even better, put pen to paper or type them out and see if you come to the same conclusion. I’m going to bet you will come up with a model that you will realize has been salient in your life.
Leave a comment or share with a major moment in your life that has resulted in change. Even a line of your story could result in a realization for someone else that could spur change!
I hope this adds value to your life!
~Mike
