We have made incredible advances over the past one hundred years. Just think about the amazing technology we are privy to. Today, we can travel at thirty thousand feet above the ground at 550 miles per hour and go anywhere in the world. We have cell phones that can make calls, check emails, and send text messages to anyone, anywhere. We can adjust the temperature of our homes to as cold or as hot as we desire. Our vehicles have powered windows and seats, navigation systems, and will soon be driving themselves.
There is one problem though… we, as a species, are in bad shape. In fact, we are in, what many could argue, the worst shape we have ever been in. Our sense of connection (despite being “connected” at all times) is terrible. Our worldwide relations are suffering. We are the sickest we have ever been. And our level of contentment, happiness, and joy are at an all time low (I’d site statistics, but look around, do I really need to?).
Humans are not very good at stepping back and looking at the big picture. We are often so happy to be doing something that we fail to ask if what we are doing is actually producing the results we want and/or need. People are constantly sharing information with me (usually in an effort to sell me something or get me involved with their network marketing business), boasting about a new breakthrough diet product or exercise device, yet they are often overweight, out of shape, and have terrible health.
I also remember being encouraged to participate in a particular investment strategy because it was soooo good, made soooo much sense, and that I would make soooo much money. The problem was that the person encouraging me to do it had no money and couldn’t even pay his bills.
Winston Churchill once said, “No matter how beautiful the strategy, occasionally you need to look at the results.” Well said!!!
Doesn’t it make sense to periodically take a step back and look at where you are. You can drive as fast and as far as you want, but if it’s in the wrong direction, you’ll end up lost. It wouldn’t matter if you have the fastest, most expensive car on the planet, if you just keep driving without reassessing, you will end up in a place you did not plan on being.
Reevaluating areas in your life is a critical action step for optimal results and success. If you think you are working hard in your marriage, but it is still miserable, maybe what you are doing isn’t effective. If you are busting your butt at your job, but not making enough money or not advancing, you might need a different strategy. If you exercise, eat a certain way, and make an effort to losing weight and get fit, but aren’t losing the weight or looking fit, you need to change what you are doing.
The reason I chose to be a chiropractor instead of a medical doctor is because, even at a young age, I saw a trend in healthcare that was only going to get worse. I watched people treating their symptoms, but failing to address the underlying cause. The end result was more testing, more medicine, and more treatment. I watched as people took more and more medication, but got sicker and sicker. I noted that if we wanted different results, we couldn’t continue doing the same things.
You must step outside yourself and look at where you are in every area of your life. Look at what you’ve been doing, where you’re at, and how things are going. We can tell ourselves until we are blue in the face how good we are doing, how hard we are working, or how smart we are, but at the end of the day, results speak for themselves. If you want different results, you must do things differently!