Break the Rules!

This post was inspired by a quote and picture (both above) that Mark Weston (@ShiftParadigm) posted one morning. He is a fantastic thought leader who continually pushes others to think and grow.  If you do not already follow him I strongly encourage you to do so.  I have included the quote and picture above that came from Mark

I viewed this quote as a way to enforce positive change. I view it that way because all too often we get stuck in accepting situations for what they are seen as rather than changing them for what they can become.

Why? Because so much of life is about perspective.

Think of how often this translates to situations concerning those students or other individuals who give us a difficult time. We (as well as others) often remember them for breaking the rules, but not always in a positive way.  Furthermore, why is it an exception for us but not others when we are going against the grain or a predetermined way of “doing things”? Therein lies the difficulty.  Changing our perspective or shifting our paradigm.

Instead of thinking we are given an exception…we need to think about changing our perspective.

I am not saying that we should excuse everybody from breaking the rules and lower our expectations of how things need to be accomplished.  There are certain non-negotiables. However, how many times have we stopped to ask and truly attempt to understand why a person is pushing against the normal, accepted behavior? What if we paused to understand the underlying reason? It may cause us to increase our level of patience, understanding and ability to deal with difficult situations.  If we thought about the status quo that was being pushed against and how the outcome may bring a positive affect in our life; we may realize a long-term better result for the situation in which we exist.

Maybe it is just shifting our Paradigm that is what is needed. Are these individuals upsetting or aggravating because of something they did or is it because they do not fit into our current perspective (paradigm) of conforming to life or systems. Think of these individuals who are breaking rules in positive light rather than a negative.  Think about the idea that they may be breaking the rules for the purpose of positive change and we may have a chance to grow ourselves.  Maybe they have a new way we haven’t thought of yet…or ever.

Why? Because we must remember that saying “because that’s they way we have always done things is never acceptable.”

Change is the most difficult thing to both accomplish and experience.  Individuals who are accustomed to being the initiators of change sometimes react the worst when they are the actual subjects.  They often fall back on inflexibility and question why the rules are being broken.  They often react rather than respond.  I know there are times I am guilty until I step back and question.

Why? Because rules cease to be useful when their purpose can not longer be explained in a thirty second elevator ride.

Are these individuals who push against the rules actually showing us something that needs to be changed because it is not working for as many people as necessary? Or are they showing us a different side that we need to examine. Either way we can only grow if we keep an objective open mind about what we see, how we understand it, and how we respond.

Why? Because life never remains stagnant so why would our perspective?

So…what stream are you going to swim up?