Many people want to CHANGE their financial situation but aren’t willing to CHANGE their choices … and this ultimately, CHANGES nothing.
~ MJ DeMarco
If you want to change your life, succeed, be rich, or do whatever, you must not only change your choices, but those choices must accumulate to form a PROCESS, and that process serves as the impetus for CHANGE.
In other words, your choices must formulate the process, otherwise they become demoted to “events”.
Sadly, most choices that people make are ineffective. They don’t produce real change. They are window-dressed events to give the chooser a temporary “feel good” moment.
For example, lets say you don’t read much. You read this blog post and exclaim “You’re right MJ! I must change my choices so today I’m going to turn off the TV and read a book”.
This is a great start but akin to putting the keys in the ignition and expecting the car to move.
You’ve made 1 choice and 1 choice does not form a process. It is an event: A solitary action when on its own, probably won’t change the course of your ship.
This choice only becomes powerful when it is strung together with other choices to form a PROCESS. It is the PROCESS that creates CHANGE.
I always enjoy observing the “event” vs “process” dichotomy unfold in real life.
Take a look at the introductions forum of the Fastlane Forum where dozens of people sign up weekly to partake in Millionaire Fastlane discussions. Page after page, story after story — people join the forum, post an intro and make a post to proclaim their choice, only to disappear and never return. These folks post once, excited and exuberant about Fastlane prospects and all it represents, and then are gone as quickly as they came.
Why?
Event versus process.
Joining a forum and posting an intro reflects a choice — it is the event. Participating, contributing, learning, and applying the knowledge is the process which requires not 1 choice, but dozens more.
More examples…
Every year, TMFers meet in Phoenix for an annual event called the “Beer and Pancakes Meetup” — I think this is the 5th year of the event and just like clockwork, the same scenario unfolds, year after year: When the event is announced, legions of people excitedly proclaim that they will attend this year!
What happens?
90% that make the proclamation never attend.
Why?
Event versus process.
Making excuses becomes the event; solving the excuse barring you from attending is the process. To say you will attend the event, is an event! It is simple. It requires little work, if at all. The actual attending (getting a flight, planning, paying, preparing) is the process.
Here’s another thread (The $2K Challenge) which exemplifies the event–vs-process relationship.
The challenge asks you to take one month and see if you can create $2,000 in cash with only $50 to start. Look at all the excitement and the people who want to participate. Sign me up! I want to do it!
Now examine the update thread. Where is everyone?
You see, a proclamation of participation is the event — it makes us feel good for making a choice — unfortunately, it is one choice and means diddly squat.
Participating and working the challenge day after day? That is the process.
Here’s another example.
The Kill Bill thread is a lose-weight/body-fat challenge. Again, notice the exuberance exhibited for participating in the challenge (the event) but when it comes down to making it happen, notice the drop off. Mostly everyone has disappeared. Process is actually exercising, changing your diet, and stringing together dozens, if not hundreds of choices. Saying “I want to do it!!” is one choice and an event.
The point of this examination is simple: One choice does not make a process. One choice is rarely enough to effect REAL change. Real change must come from a lineage of NEW CHOICES so it creates a process, which can effectively create a lifestyle.
If your diet consists of burgers, fries, and pizza — will making a choice to eat broccoli and carrots for dinner “CHANGE” anything? No — it must happen repeatedly to form the process – the process creates the lifestyle of “healthy eating”.
So the next time you *think* you are making a choice and feeling good about it, ask yourself: Are you fooling yourself with the EVENT? Or is your choice truly apart of the PROCESS?
Cheers,
MJ
(Next article … The exception: How some choices of EVENTS can truly be life changing!)
And Stop The Prostitution of Monday Through Friday!
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