Rewiring Is Not Easy

The most important things things are often the hardest things to do. Ask anyone who’s made a New Year’s resolution. Starting is easy. Continuing is hard. For years my son, Tyler, pressed me to get my heart checked. Heart issues and heart attacks are common on both sides of my family – probably genetic. I was sure, though, that I was the exception. “Just get it checked out,” he kept saying.

I finally gave in a couple of years ago and met with a cardiologist. I was in good physical shape for my age and ate a mostly healthy diet. I saw the doctor visit as a formality - something to appease Tyler. I expected the doctor to be amazed with my exercise and nutrition regiment. He wasn’t visibly moved. Instead, he said, “It looks like you’re doing all the right things. Let’s do a CT scan of your heart and see what it tells us.” 

The CT technician finished the scan, printed out a report, and handed it to me. The first thing that caught my attention was the calcification level - NOT in the normal range.  The note at the end of the report really opened my eyes – “Significant cardiac issue likely in the next two years.” 

I’m still here, and hopefully will be for many years to come. It has not been an easy journey, though. I had to rewire how I thought about virtually everything – food, exercise, stress, relationships, work, medicine, and more. 

A few months ago, I realized that my emotional wiring had changed. Instead of staying in the bed another 20 minutes, I was up and doing my morning meditation and workout. The 1-2 punch of meditation and exercise clears the negative thinking out of my brain and gets me focused. I’m now a boring eater by most standards because I’ve become addicted to feeling good and being healthy rather than compulsive eating (which was common for me). 

Here's the point as it relates to a Growth Culture. Most of us have been conditioned to lead in a Performance Culture - tasks, goals, and deadlines. You can’t get to a Growth Culture by pedaling faster - doing more of what you are currently doing. Rewiring how you think and what you do is the only way to build Growth Culture. And… it will take time. Stay at it, though, and you will start noticing a few changes relatively soon. Stay at it longer, and you will begin to see a completely different organization. It's about consistency with the right actions over time. 

John Brantley

www.theauxinleader.com