Just came from a movie called, “The Butler.” it is a story about a man who grew up during the fight for equality for the Negro race in this country. He did so from an unusual view of the proceedings. He did so from a view inside the White House as a butler for several presidents. The brilliant Forest Whitaker plays the lead role.
Go see the movie. My telling you about it will not do it justice. The movie reminded me of how difficult it is to cause change. The biggest difficulty seems to be in getting alignment from the folks that might benefit the most from the change.
The majority of people are not particularly interested in change as long as they are surviving without undue pain. In other words, they are a little better off than their neighbor. Survival urges are so strong it is very difficult to be concerned about other people.
You see it in sports when a team is in the middle of the pack. You know, when the season could go either way. Very difficult to break through to a higher level because in order to do that, someone must take a risk and get out of their comfort zone. They must take a stand on themselves and their teammates that they are capable of fulfilling on a possibility for what they really want. Or, better said, what they are committed to. It is too easy to settle for less.
It is not our circumstances or the people outside of us that are the problem, it is the people on our team that are the true danger … not for their actions, but for their apathy and their self-serving thinking. It is” too bad you have a problem.” It is just not mine. Consider that working toward the people you play with having a great life is the best insurance policy that your life will be great.