Change is a comin' #BlogElul 11

This post is dedicated to Phyllis Sommer as a way of showing that I can change my blogging habits!

Next time I print these cards I will add Change Addict!

At the end of the school year, our congregation held a "Board Forward." What's a Board Forward - well a Board Retreat would be moving backward! (Seriously that is what we called it!) As part of the day we did an activity where we mapped our strengths - individually and as an institution. I identified one of my strengths as being a "change addict."

Yes, I am familiar with the "if it ain't broke don't fix it" approach - and I apply it liberally in my personal life. But when it comes to my professional life I take a different angle - why wait for it to break? We live in a world that is moving very fast - and if we wait for things to break we may find that we have become too irrelevant to fix anything.

But Elul isn't really about organizational change - it's about personal change and growth. Why is it that a concept I can easily apply professionally is so challenging to apply to my personal life? (I'm sure my therapist would have a few ideas...)

Perhaps there are in-roads I can make by reframing the situation. Instead of looking to "fix" things that are "broken" in my personal habits, relationships, etc. what if I look for things that are too important to let break? Things that should be strengthened so that they can withstand any challenge?

So instead of focusing on eating a more healthy diet, or exercising more (which are great goals), I am trying to change the way I relate to the people that are the most important to me. The changes I hope to implement are saying "I love you" more, saying "thank you" more, and finding new ways to express gratitude.