…most people overestimate the importance of events and underestimate the power of processes.
- John Maxwell
We are a quick fix society. Whatever it is that we want, we want it quickly…and we want it without pain and difficulty. John Maxwell, in his book The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership, explains that becoming a leader is a process, not an event. I think this applies to living life by design. To align our lives with our design is a process. It is not a quick fix. It is not an event. It is a life-time commitment to continually grow and become more and more the person I was designed to be.
We love events. We love the excitement. We love the energy. We love the feel-good emotions that go with a successful event. But events won’t take us to where we really want to go. Eventually, the excitement dies, the energy wanes…and we need another event to get us back on a high. Then the cycle starts over again…
Events have their place. They are great catalysts for raising awareness and excitement, but effective and lasting change requires a process. As a trainer, I see this all the time. The training event is a great way to raise awareness, to learn new skills, to assimilate information – but lasting change takes much longer that a 2-day workshop. Lasting change requires steady perseverance, unrelenting commitment, and engaging in a process.
John Maxwell lists the following comparison:
| AN EVENT | A PROCESS |
| Encourages decisions | Encourages development |
| Motivates people | Matures people |
| Is a calendar issue | Is a culture issue |
| Challenges people | Changes people |
| Is easy | Is difficult |
May we become people willing to engage in the process of living life by design.
30/05/2009 at 6:40 pm Permalink
Wow!! How true is that!! I was so event oriented! I loved the excitement and the feeling of experiencing or allowing others to experience the feel of community. As I read your blog I recognized that the cycle was there , where I began thinking of creating the next event or insight for people to experience! The problem became that at those points life became so busy that I lost the process that I needed to do to put into effect what I had learned… and so I went on, leaving the truths behind me… and changing but not to the depth of impact that was needed — even though I was very excited about what I had experienced in event or learning.
I even wrote all kinds of cool things, and had great insight into things. Here is the kicker: I kept moving on to new things to write or understand. I loved the thrill of the adrenaline rush. The joy of learning kept taking me on to the next thing… instead of like the cow, taking what I had in my mouth and chewing on it until I make it a part of my life and thinking and action. I just kept stuffing food in my mouth!!… and then sharing this great insight with others, because it was soooo good!
Now how gross is that picture… the cow with food sticking all out of it’s mouth and all the while stuffing more food in… and then running excitedly around the pasture because it tastes so good.
So, it seems to reinforce that life is about balance. Decisions and motivation are good. But without the development and maturing that John mentioned I don’t change and overcome because I don’t take the time to process and work it into my life– and the decision melts away without lasting change.
Thanks for challenging my thinking about the process! The event excites me but the process will change me… and that’s what my heart wants. So for me to eat… and understand… and then process until it becomes a part of who I am at my core.
You are a blessing!