What will I get if I ignore my vegetable garden this spring, leaving it untilled and unplanted?  You may say "nothing," but you'd be wrong.  I will get weeds; lots and lots of gnarly weeds.

If I stop doing curls, my biceps will definitely not get bigger, but worse, they'll get smaller and flabbier.

There is no standing still.  You are either growing or shrinking. 

Shrinking is good when it is time to shrink.  Downsizing the house after the kids are grown and gone is one example of intentional reverse; so is retirement.  I'm not advocating the relentless pursuit of running hard at lofty goals to the grave. I'm only highlighting that doing nothing is doing something.  We don't stand still; we either go forward or backward. "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" is a lovely proverb, almost a law, but it isn't always true.

The sentiment behind it is not to monkey around with something that works well, but I find that thinking is short-sighted.  Socrates said, "The unexamined life is not worth living."  I'm sure he was not recommending that we examine our life when we turn twenty-one and, if it passes muster, remain unchanged until our death. I may feel healthy at 21 while eating fast food, staying out late, drinking, and ignoring the gym.  The effects may not be seen or felt in my young body. But as I get older, I will have to look at those habits and make changes if I want to be healthy.

When work is going well, I like to put a lens on it for a little Stop, Start, and Continue (what do I want to stop doing, what do I want to start doing, and what should I continue to do) examination. The same goes for my relationships, health practices, reading, and learning routines.  And again, it isn't about relentless "hard-charging." It's about not having regret.  I don't want to let a few months, years, or even decades pass and then "should" all over myself for parts of me left to float down the river of life with the benefit of my oars in the water and my eyes navigating by the stars.

I encourage us all to look at our lives, whether just starting or sitting in the front row of the departure lounge. None of us knows how much time we have left, but if we were told, we'd plan to use our remaining days wisely, wouldn't we?

There is an old Yiddish expression: "Man plans, and God laughs." I like that.  It reminds me that regardless of what I may have planned,  I am subject to the designs of the universe. Serendipity and unintended consequences visit all of us irrespective of how assiduously we plan.

But I think that if "Man plans and God laughs" is true, then "Man doesn't plan, and God is hysterical, doubled over with tears running down his face and can't catch his breath" is probably truer.

L'Chaim!

Own Your Sales Gene…