epiphany & equations

I figured I'd circle back on a couple of things I mentioned earlier - namely epiphanies & logic. I referenced in who?, an 'altered course' from 2003, there was a second kink in 2006.

It's a Saturday in July & I'm buying a couple of friends lunch in the centre of Nottingham. We weren't there to talk about me, but suddenly we were & in particular my frequent lament that I'd come to believe that

my time is more valuable than my money

Their question was, when did I intend to actually do something about that?! Long story short, I acted the following Thursday, a move which ended in a new role, with a great boss, but only 3 days a week (I'll come back another time to the 'spare' time).

I've come to understand what happened to me that day (& at other times) through the following equation (it's not of my own making but can't reference it)

a + b + c > d

where

a = dissatisfaction with the status quo
b = a vision of something better
c = first step towards change
d = the perceived cost of change

As I sat & ate, I already had my 'b' & my 'c' - my 'a' however, had never been big enough to overcome my 'd'.

In words

I wasn't wound up enough to do something that felt risky

That day, my 'd' didn't shrink, I was & still am a risk averse sort of guy, but my 'a' went through the roof & the rest as they say is history. Whilst not the purpose of writing, this includes the fact that in my first full year at 3 days a week, I earned more than I ever had & I'm talking in absolute terms.

Next steps time again - take a minute to think about an area in your life which isn't as you believe God would currently have it to be. Take another minute (or two) to capture your vision of something better (b) & a first step towards that (c). These are typically the easiest of the four ingredients to get at but if you can't do this alone, find a good & trustworthy friend & work through it with them.

Armed with those two elements - there's only one remaining step! Get yourself to a place where you can't not change, however, you do that. If it helps you along your way, my experience is that 'd', the perceived cost of change is in reality rarely as big as we presume it to be.

I'm a long way from 'sorted' myself & continue to use this process in my journey (more of that on another occasion). On the way, let's stay strong & close to Him

Jonathan