If They Wanted To

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Message for Daily LivingMonday April 13, 2009

 

If They Wanted To Zig Ziglar

Many of you have heard the old saying " Insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. " Folks could change their ways and get different results if they wanted to. It's the " if they wanted to " part that reminds me of a little story I heard long ago.

This ol' boy down home went to a concert and won a bass fiddle in a drawing. Now, as luck would have it, he was seated right next to the orchestra pit and could see the man playing the bass fiddle. He was excited when he got home, because he had witnessed how to hold the bow and how to pull it across the strings; so he started practicing. His approach personified old " ny One Note. "

Later, when his wife attended a concert, she also got a seat right next to the orchestra and watched the man playing bass fiddle a little more carefully. She noticed that the musician was running his bow up and down, slowly and fast, long and short, all over that fiddle. She went home, and there sat old " ny One Note, " just practicing away -- pulling that bow straight across those strings. She said: " Honey, I could not help but notice that the fella in the orchestra was moving his bow all over the fiddle and doing lots of different things. Why is it that he's doing all of that and you just pull your bow straight across? "

He replied: " That fella's still lookin' for his place. I done found mine. " Now, folks, if you've " done found " your place, you can relate to this man's philosophy on life. He has no desire to change the way he plays his fiddle, and he doesn't even care that it can be done another way. He likes the results he's getting and refuses to consider that he might actually get more enjoyment out of his fiddle playing if he looked at ALL of the options. He does not WANT to change.

I know of an instance in which one spouse was completely satisfied with the status quo and the other was at the end of her rope with the marriage. One spouse begged for change, counseling, her husband to read books with her on how to improve the marriage, and trips together to reignite the flames of love, while the other steadfastly refused all suggestions, saying, " I'm happy with the way things are. " That spouse did not WANT to change!

Sometimes change is forced on people by circumstances beyond their control. The uninterested spouse mentioned above now attends counseling sessions and seminars on how to improve his marriage because when the change-seeking spouse left, he discovered he did NOT like living alone more than he liked living with the status quo. Circumstances created a desire for change.

Individuals who need to make more money but are comfortable with the routines in their workplaces elect not to look for new jobs, choosing familiarity over change and/or the unknown. When downsizing eliminates their jobs, they are FORCED to change. More times than not, these forced changes cause these people to make more money and receive more benefits than they did in their previous jobs.

Why do people settle for less day after day? Because change is uncomfortable -- even hard. And most folks do continue doing the same things over and over again -- until ANYTHING would be better than what's happening at the moment. People tend to be creatures of habit. Don't be like old " ny One Note " ; look at all your options, and opt for change when change would serve you better. Do what needs to be done; make some new music in your life, and you will have something to smile about.

To find out more about Zig Ziglar and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com. Subscribe to Zig Ziglar's free e-mail newsletter through info@....

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