And You Know It Don't Come Easy.

I saw this post on Facebook today, and it penetrated especially deep, due to some of the reading I have been checking out in the past few days.

They're all generally blog posts or writings by passionate individuals who want change. They want social change, essentially, and they want it now. They want environmental change. They want to stop the Age of Extinction. They want Equal Rights for native peoples, and people of color. They want social justice.

I don't want to go into all the arguments for or against these well meaning people. I mean, it's awesome, and it's all about making the world a better place.

But here's the thing: Many people Want change. They Demand change. They say things need to Stop. Now.

But what are we changing TO? What kind of world are we trying to create, and how can we get there? Where is the map for us to follow, to begin to make these shifts?

One thing I have learned on my quest for personal change is that it's one thing to want to make a change, ie. lose weight or write or go to bed earlier. But doing it is harder than just the wanting. It helps to have a plan. A strategy. Sometimes getting support. Sometimes it's making a lot of little changes that add up to a lot over a span of time.

It's also easier to create change if you actually WANT to change. And none of the people who are advocating change are especially caring about the real people they are asking to change.

"Change all of your behaviors, Now!" is the refrain. "Or else?"

Well, no one I know likes to be forced to change. Or threatened to change. That's a recipe for fighting.

Maybe that's what their overall goal is. To fight, and let all the anger out, all the time. Maybe it's to be on the side of being 'right', and then trying to win.

Unfortunately, the numbers, the money, the effort and the message is not on these passionate people's side. There is basically no advantage that they have on their side except some truthful elements that we do actually need to change.

So, what's the answer? What do we do?

I believe, the answer is Messaging.

I think that how we approach these issues matters. A lot.

I think a big part of the equation lies also in What We Want To Accomplish.

Does any of that make sense?

You see, it's always easier to fight, than to actually change. Fighting is our default. It's the easiest path of least resistance.

And after we fight and fight, and the fight is over, guess what?

We still have to change. Ugh! We're still right back to square one.

Personally, I would rather create a strategy towards change, and actually take steps that lead to change, rather than try to swim upstream and just fight all the time. Of course, that's just me.

So, how do we control the messaging? How do we make that happen?

Well, it's hard work. I mean, it's much easier to just argue on Facebook, than it is to do the work in the trenches that gets us results, or at least, a few steps closer to our goals.

The planet needs our help, and it needs us to do our very best. It's a huge job. And it's not going to take overnight. But rather than getting overwhelmed and taking yourself out of the game, we have to take small, concrete steps that move us forward, little bits of change, rather than no change at all.

That's my big takeaway from this Facebook graphic.

What did you think of it?