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"Most people do the same thing the same way, yet expect different results."


A thought by John C. Maxwell, (2013-10-08) from his book, Sometimes You Win--Sometimes You Learn:Life's Greatest Lessons Are Gained from Our Losses (p. 183). Center Street. Kindle Edition.

He gives an illustration… “A letter was returned to the Post Office. Marked on the envelope were the words, ‘He’s dead.’ Through an oversight the letter was again sent to the same address. It was again returned, with the following note: ‘He’s still dead.’ Too often we are like the postal worker, resending that letter yet hoping for different results.”

Let’s say you get depressed.  Every time you are depressed you go on a food binge.  It helps for a while then you are depressed because you gained weight.  Figure out what the problem is that is leading you to being depressed.  Go to a Doctor to see if it is a physical problem or go to a Counselor to see if it is an emotional problem.

Let’s say you have money problems so you go out and get a better job with more money.  But in five months you are again having money problems.  The problem isn’t how much you make but how much you spend.  Make a budget and live on it.  Also figure out why you need to spend. 

Let’s say you’re having relational problems.  You make a friend and then you have a blow up and you lose that friendship and move on to another one and you at one point have the same problem.  Then you get this new friend and you know this is going to be different but you still put yourself first and expect them to solve your deep needs but when they don’t you blow up.  Maybe you to stop and figure out why you are so needy and negative and strive to start looking at meeting the other person’s needs.   

None of us living in LA get on Interstate 10 and stay on it to go to Las Vegas.  If we stay on Interstate 10 we will go to Tucson, Arizona.  If we want to go to Las Vegas we will have to take Interstate 10 to Interstate 15 and turn north.  You can’t get to Las Vegas staying on Interstate 10 even with great expectations.  And we are disappointed and even mad when we end up in Arizona instead of Nevada.

Most people do the same thing the same way, yet expect different results.

Is that what you are doing?
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