Think Smart Change
Combating Relativism
This Title "Think Smart Change" has a series of articles or chapters. The author is pleased to write all his articles under the same title, starting with the overview described in the Introduction below.
INTRODUCTION
“All meaningful and lasting change starts first in your imagination and then works its way out.” - Albert Einstein
The purpose of this book is to discuss the value of thinking and the impact of change.It is based upon my accumulation of knowledge, studies and experiences.I have expressed these insights and ideas out from many sources.There are two words in the title that are of profound meaning.These are; think and change.Each word constitutes a process that produces results.
THINK
Thinking is a cause and effect relationship because when you think from garbage thoughts and sources, the result is trash.If you think wisely, the result should be fruitful.Thus, the quality of decisions depends upon the quality of the information that are fed into your mind, which are transformed into knowledge.Every process of thinking and changing has a consequence and it’s the goal of this writing to discuss the potential consequences of change with the hope that the reader may be guided well in advance.
Let me start with the word, “Think.” Key to your personal success lies in your manner of thinking.Merriam-Webster’s simple definition of think are: to believe that something is true that a situation exists, that something will happen, etc.: to have an opinion about someone or something, to form or have (a thought in your mind.)
To think is to have a conscious mind, to some extent of reasoning, remembering experiences, making rational discussion, to employ one’s mind rationally and objectively in evaluating or dealing with a given situation.Think carefully before you begin.
Daniel Webster (1782-1852), an American statesman and orator, said, “Mind is the greatest lever of all things.Human thought is the process by which human ends are ultimately answered.” Per Walter Doyle Staples book, Think Like a Winner, he deduced three general categories of thinking derived from these definitions: (1) To turn over in mind.He gave the examples like meditate, ponder, reason, to give continued thought to, as in order to reach decisions; to understand or solve.He explained that this thinking is about the present primarily involves creating solutions and determining meaning from conflicting pieces of information, adopting an opinion or belief about a subject, or reaffirming adopted opinions and beliefs; (2) To have in mind, recollect or remember by recalling the past; and (3) To anticipate or expect a given result based on historical data by thinking about the future and what it may bring.
We can imagine that your mental thought process travels through three paradigms: (1) Present; (2) Past; and (3) Future.There is a problem when you think for the future under the influence of past and present paradigms as the past can cloud your thoughts, therefore the author suggests that your thoughts should be fragmented from each paradigm.Let not your failures limit your potential for success.Be very careful that you think with positive mental attitude through these processes by learning from the past to correct the present and anticipate the future.
CHANGE
We are living in a world of constant change and the speed of change is so fast that we seem unable to keep up with it.Merriam-Webster dictionary defines change as: to become different, to make (someone or something) different, to become something else.
Change is a process of causing a function, practice or thing to become different somehow compared to what it is.Change is a dynamic process of achieving excellence.Don’t like change? W.Edwards Deming quoted, “It is not necessary to change.Survival is not mandatory.” However, whether you like it or not, you’re in for a lot of changes.
Human beings are prewired to compare and compete with each other.Thus, most of the time, we neglect our own potential.If we lack wisdom, we succumb to follow the bandwagon and adopt bad change, which could be shocking and destructive.If we don’t build our infrastructure against evil changes, they can take over our life and our future.
So, as we see all kinds of changes every single day, we struggle to survive.Changes come in many areas of our life, be it technology, political environment, economic conditions, market, personal beliefs.Realizing the complexity of changes that may affect our quality of life, the author attempts to present his views and observations in this book.
In this society, realize that we stand on a cross road of change, good or bad.Our choice leads us into two strategic directions.One direction is for progress and the other is the opposite, which could be destructive.Therefore, we need to be aggressively open for progress but must be steadfastly strong to protect us from the force of bad change.To successfully deal with these contradicting influences would require a fortified defense infrastructure within ourselves.
Before making a decision to change, remember what God has set for you: “I call heaven and earth to record this day against you, that I have set before you life and death, blessing and cursing: therefore choose life, that both thou and thy seed may live: That thou mayest love the Lord thy God, and that thou mayest cleave unto him: for he is thy life, and the length of thy days: that thou mayest dwell in the land which the Lord sware unto thy fathers, to Abraham, to Isaac, and to Jacob, to give them.” Deuteronomy 30:19-20.KJV.
I’m fortunate to have witnessed the lives of five generations of my family starting from my grandparents down to my grandchildren.During this period, I had observed waves of changes that occurred each time and how those changes had influenced their life, their perspective, actions and results.This exposure has taught me that it is one thing to face the challenge of change, it is another thing to live in an environment of change, yet, it is even a far greater challenge to sustain life abounded by constant change.
In this millennium, since we are living in a new paradigm of constant change that are more complex; the question is how can these changes impact people’s life? The bottom line effect is in the lives of individuals and families as these changes could drive human behavior and could distort direction of life, especially their faith.
For the sake of discussion, I want to draw two hypotheses for this process – the Hypothesis and the Null Hypothesis.
Hypothesis: Man will always adjust and embrace change to succeed.
Null Hypothesis: Since change is relative to another, man can’t discern moral from immoral relativism, therefore man should be very careful about change.
To determine which of these hypotheses is acceptable depends on the overwhelming evidences that support the hypothesis.The objective of this research is to present sufficient information that supports one assumption.The determination which hypothesis is to be rejected or accepted lies on the individual person’s experience and observations and is beyond the scope of this research.
The contents presented in this book are based on random sampled observations and research with the objective of discussing one’s purpose in life that should drive intentions, decisions and actions toward a change.