The Importance of the Right People

We are creatures of habit. Once we are trained, we can complete extremely complex tasks without even thinking. Driving. Cooking. Making love.

Like water, we gravitate toward the path of least resistance. We naturally look for the easiest route, the shortest distance, or the road with the fewest delays. Think Mapquest.

Scientists and sociologists spend entire careers studying this phenomenon. Imagine the fascination of a neuroanatomist as she peers into a microscope and studies slide samples of your brain. Carefully trained, she writes down copious notes about the brain architecture that supports your behavior, memories and thought processes.

Now, imagine there's only a short paragraph written about you. Why? Habit.

Great leaders, entrepreneurs and explorers find new ways of doing things. They continuously innovate and create. They are notorious risk-takers. They discover patterns and use them to their advantage. To borrow a famous marketing phrase, "they never stop exploring." (Thanks, Northface.) Neuroanatomists tell us our brains physically reflect how the mind works as we learn and assimilate new information. 

The way I see it, we have a choice to make. 

1.  We can choose to live within the safety of our established habits and we can actually be happy doing this. We can live in the same neighborhood, eat the same food, work in the same job and love the same people our whole lives. Life is predictable and relationships are automatic.

2.  We can choose to live a life of constant frustration and challenge. Learning new things is difficult, often painful and requires us to sacrifice what we know now for something we may eventually discover in the future. Some relationships will be intense, passionate and short-lived. Other relationships will change because we constantly develop and grow. Few things stay the same.

3.  Or, we can choose some hybrid of the two.

Here's my challenge: be sure you have the right people in your life that can show you the benefits of both worlds and invite God to play a larger role in your daily living. Give God permission to weigh in on your decision making process. Allow for failure and practice forgiveness. Resilience is the best weapon against the onset of the mundane. Thank God for that brilliant idea, 'aha' moment or confirmation that all will be well. Eventually, you'll notice how seamlessly God integrated people, purpose and meaning into your life. There will be far more than a paragraph written about you. There will be a book. It'll be an extraordinary tale of an original life and it will be yours.