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Meanderings from Jean's Desk....
Blog Archive 
May 1, 2013: Seeing Those Around Us
May 1, 2013: Scarcity or Abundance: Choose
April 15, 2013: Being Where You Are!
April 1, 2013: Leadership Is Being Vulnerable
March 15, 2013: Leadership and Shedding Skin
Feb 17, 2013: Leadership Isn't Always Romantic
Dec 15, 2012: The Space Between The Notes
Nov 1, 2012: The Ostrich Effect
Oct 15, 2012: Who Are You Being When You Are Doing Your Life?
Oct 1, 2012: Constructive Interaction
Video
2009 Kenosha Business of the Year:
LMI Packaging Solutions, Inc.
There Is No Standing Still
Today I walked back to our art department and what I saw was quite exhilarating.
We recently purchased new digital plate making equipment and Sally, our Art Director, and Crissy, her Assistant, had just finished their first round of training and were in the throes of learning a completely new, upgraded technology, to further enhance the value we bring to our customers.
Stress had been high throughout the acquisition process as we set aggressive deadlines for the installation. The art department needed to be completely redesigned and built out, with equipment installed and operating in only a few months and permits had not yet been obtained. We set a new bar within the organization in the speed with which this project was executed.
Still, as I said, the energy in the room was exhilarating. I couldn’t help but think about how change can do that for us. Though it feels overwhelming at times and very much out of our comfort zones, I can barely think of a time in my life that it has not been life giving for me, even when it was change I didn’t choose.
I remember a friend telling me that THERE IS NO STANDING STILL. You are either moving forward or backwards. I think at the time he was talking about business growth but I have since learned that it applies to all areas of life.
I still find myself being a little reticent when I see that it is time to enter that world of change yet again. I have even caught myself from time to time, saying, enough, I am getting too old for this. I don’t need to keep reinventing myself.
But as soon as I think I can just coast I again remember that THERE IS NO STANDING STILL. No matter what the area of life we look at, our relationships, our physical health, our emotional and mental development, or our spirituality, coasting will eventually lead to stagnation, and soon thereafter, backwards motion.
I am not sure if it is ever comfortable to go where we have not been; to take an area of life that is working and challenging it to be even better; or more importantly, taking an area of life that is not working and doing something dramatically different then we have tried in the past, to change it.
I tell my kids, there is no courage without fear.
As we all look this year at what has worked for us, and what has not, I encourage all of us to remember that there IS NO STANDING STILL. We will all, ultimately, one day, have no choice in this matter, but as long as we do let’s choose to move forward.
As Sally and Crissy have done for us, let’s all of us embrace the changes necessary to keep all areas of our lives moving forward, walking through our fears this New Year and choosing the rewards of being fully alive and growing.
