#5: Change the Rules to Challenge Your Thinking & The Adventure Begins

To find fulfillment in this adventure called life, change your rules in order to think bigger.

What do I mean by that?

When things go wrong (especially when there is chaos), I see opportunity. Even as things get settled, I look for ways to make them better and don’t easily settle for the status quo. Oddly, it is not perfection that I seek but perhaps in my pursuit of better, that is where I may land but it is not the intention. I stop seeking for better as I run out of great ideas and pivot to something else or someone. It is time for them to take over and make things better as I move on.

The silver lining: By seeing opportunity, I get to change the rules. For things to change and become better, the rules need to change.

How do I change things? I know the answer lies in the rules. Rules provide guidance on the expected behaviours and outcomes. Rules tell the player how to play the game that determines the outcomes. If there is chaos or a mess, the current rules (or lack thereof) give the players heaps of freedom to do whatever they want. If there is calm, the rules created the atmosphere for those results.

Ever played Scrabble in a different language? I was on a train journey across Australia, “The Indian Pacific” that takes you between Sydney and Perth. There was a scrabble board aboard. As we sat down, my travelling companions and I played one round of the game and were bored. Then, we changed just one rule. Instead of English, we were only allowed words from the Malay language. The longest word on the board was “HARIMAU” (see image: long down including a blank tile) meaning tiger and surprisingly, the most fun game of scrabble I have had to date Change the rules to change your thinking and the adventure begins.

Here is how you change the rules:

The first rules to look at and change are what you anticipate and expect of yourself. Ever moved to new organisation and realised that ‘things are done differently here’? ?

Your rules govern your thinking and vice versa; they reinforce each other and produce your results & outcomes. Both your thinking and rules stem from your perceptions, experiences, beliefs, standards for yourself and the values that you base your life on. For instance, if I do not change at least one of my rules, I should expect that every situation that I walk into is the same. But they are not, are they? In fact, that never happens unless I'm caught in a

Review the next set of rules to determine how the game is played. Do they benefit anyone (why and how), the same or leave them worse off? Do they even appreciate those rules? Most of us want things to be better but we don’t necessarily know what better looks like. Having such conversations could trigger the process of changing the rules.

Similarly, for the last set of rules, there are others who are not playing the game but they may be watching it or may not know it at all. As we played Scrabble in Malay, our laughter caught the attention of the other passengers on that 4D/3N all-you-can-eat-and-drink journey from Sydney to Perth. They wanted to know what we were up to. The next day, they took a turn in playing it in another language. ?Changing the rules is FUN!

It is at this point where you realise that you have options in the new organisation:

(1) bring in what you know,

(2) accept how things are done in that business,

(3) find a blend of the two or

(4) find a better version.

Some of us are content with option 2. We may gripe and complain about the process and systems but do not move that needle. But that does not change anything least of all, the people.

Are there things that I cannot change?

Yes, most definitely. Short answer: People. I can’t change anyone. I can inform, help them to become aware or educate. Only they have the power within to change themselves, starting with their internal rules first. They have options too and get to decide if they want to keep playing the game or find another to join. There is no harm or foul and the relationship we have is unaffected.

Am I easily content with my life? Yes. As there is so much opportunity for making things better, wouldn’t you agree?

It might be time for your next adventure! Here's my invitation, to join me on this webinar, to get ready for that adventure! Click here to find out more information.

#adventure #leadership #opportunity