
Nothing Changes Until You Do - drodio
https://blog.armory.io/nothing-changes-until-you-do/
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hnarn
> I am accountable for myself and that if I want my circumstances to change,
> it starts with me.

Anyone with a minimum of intellectual honesty will accept that this is only
partly true. Any circumstance that you find yourself in is a combination of
many factors, it can never be naively boiled down to the single factor of
"you". There are many variables that go into putting you, the reader, and
myself, in the exact situations we are in now. That our actions have
influenced it is beyond discussion, but that it has the potential to uniquely
shape it, regardless of external factors, is absurd.

So, you may say: "Sure, external factors will affect you, but where you go
from here is completely up to you" \-- but this apparent truism does not hold
up to scrutiny. If your life so far could not have been shaped exclusively and
purely by your own initiative, how can the rest of your life?

The church of individual performance and the cult of myself is so intimately
tied into our current zeitgeist or hegemony that nobody even seems to question
it. I really wish more people did, if nothing else it would make for more
interesting philosophy, possibly something that felt a little less like "The
Secret".

~~~
rlonn
External factors always have a huge influence on outcomes, but they are also
often not under your control. Focusing on the things you do have control over
is vastly better than using uncontrollable things as an excuse not to bother
at all. This means that if a person needs to pretend it's all about
themselves, in order to be motivated enough to try and control the
controllable, then that's the best strategy.

~~~
hnarn
> if a person needs to pretend it's all about themselves, in order to be
> motivated enough to try and control the controllable, then that's the best
> strategy.

It might be the best strategy for your own individual performance, but I
question how it affects your view of other peoples' struggles.

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blazespin
Sadly, such an obvious concept but weirdly ignored by a lot of executives. I
remember being at a company with "Don't be a jerk" as one of the top culture
lines but one of the most senior executives was probably the craziest jerk
you've ever met.

~~~
Sevrene
There's probably a reason they have to tout that, right. I think one of the
most reliable lines I've encountered like that is "I don't like drama". People
who say that tend to always be involved in drama, which is why they have to
verbalise that they don't like it in the first place. I also do not like
drama, but I don't verbalise this, but rather I just avoid it.

If you have to say "dont be a jerk", rather than just do it, what does that
really say?

~~~
mojuba
I think in psychology it's called mirroring, if I'm not mistaken. A lot of the
times those who lecture others (especially when nobody asked them to) are
lecturing themselves without realizing it.

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rodolphoarruda
This is a hard lesson that I could only learn after transitioning from
employee to business owner. By being the latter, you face the hard truth that
nothing, zero, is going to happen until to take the steps and do it. This year
I'm back as an employee and I think I'm carrying the experience and lessons
learned that if I don't do it, it won't happen (let alone expect somebody else
to do it for me).

~~~
hnarn
The obvious difference being that when you're a business owner, you have the
mandate to make those changes, and rightfully you can reap the rewards
afterwards. The same problem when you're an employee is much more complex. You
may lack the mandate to perform the change, you may have inefficient or
hostile management involved, there may be adverse incentives at play, and so
much more.

I think it's a disservice to everyone to compare the experience of being an
entrepreneur to that of being an employee. Sure, most employees could probably
use some more initiative, but a lot of the time the amount of initiative you
get out of employees is directly correlated to the possibility that someone
will listen and take action on that initiative. In many, many companies, that
possibility is almost zero.

~~~
rodolphoarruda
I don't see it as a disservice. Many good employees seek to develop an
"entrepreneurial" attitude at their jobs. That translates into more attention
to detail, focus on the customer, accountability and care for the overall
profitability of the company; all that regardless of having the mandate to
things or not. Experienced managers can quickly identify individuals with
those characteristics, some of them got a fancy title of "high potentials" in
some companies. Some other companies understand that employees without
entrepreneurial attitude are more inclined to just do their jobs, which is
fine, but really just fine.

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purplezooey
"When a leader moves an inch, the company moves a mile.". Most of the
"leaders" I've known can keep moving inches until they are at the bart
station.

------
rafaelvasco
We are at all times subconsciously holding ourselves down: "I can't. I'll try
and fail. I'm not enough. I'm afraid". Life is all about Experimentation,
Experience, Discovery and Self-Discovery so that you ultimately transcend who
you thought you was and discover who you really are.

------
gdsdfe
Good marketing

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tapdi
I don't known it good or not. But if i do a lot, but nothing changes? I knew
that we need to pass some failure before we success. But when you go in the
long way , tressure sometimes want to kill me. Sorry my bad English

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netfl0
7 culture transformations. Ugh.

------
rohan1024
You have power over your mind - not outside events. Realize this, and you will
find strength.

\- Marcus Aurelius

~~~
pmoriarty
_I do not believe in freedom of the will. Schopenhauer 's words: "Man can do
what he wants, but he cannot will what he wills" accompany me in all
situations throughout my life._

\- Albert Einstein

~~~
pwdisswordfish2
_Quoting is for pretentious people who are incapable of substantiating their
opinions otherwise_

\- myself

~~~
buboard
_When a company moves an inch, remember it was you_

\- Frederic Lohard

