Approach change as a byproduct instead of an outcome. Sustainable change emerges from cultural conditions like a tree emerges from the soil.

I can’t control the growth of a tree. All I can do is create the conditions that give it everything it needs to be strong and healthy. I choose which type of tree I plant, and I can guide it’s growth. That’s it.

People create and sustain change, and people are not a KPI to be controlled or a widget to be manufactured.

Humans live within meaning-making the way seeds live in soil. We are drenched in our assessments, interpretations, and stories.

The next time I find myself spinning and fixating on my story, I will stop and consider how that story is either supporting or preventing new choices. I will consider what I want instead, then choose a story that creates freedom for new action.

New action leads to new impact, to new learning, to adaptation. Now I’m dancing.