How Quickly Do You Stop on a Dime?

I felt all psyched to do a live broadcast on Facebook 5 minutes ago.

I deleted my phone cache, turned it off, turned it on, had perfect lighting, began broadcasting live and 2 minutes in was informed the signal is not good enough for a live broadcast. Video interrupted.

I gave the video 10 seconds – literally – to begin streaming. After 10 seconds I ended the broadcast, deleted the video, shut off my phone and began writing this guest post.

45 seconds elapsed between the video ending and me writing the first word of this guest post. I stop on a dime. Immediately. No sense clinging to what needs to go.

I felt good doing the live broadcast but the live broadcast did not want me to take that route. I agreed. So I wrote this guest post.

Observe Attachments

People attach to things, doing stuff and other human beings. Things change, stuff we do changes and humans change. Suffering follows attachments because the thing or person you bind to eventually changes or simply leaves. Imagine if I attached to doing a live broadcast 10 minutes ago? Complaints, frustrations and wasted energy trying to force the broadcast would follow. Would I go live? Nope. My signal seems weak today.

What do experienced people proceed with? Something else. I knew writing the post was my next step because the live broadcast did not happen. But I observed any attachment to doing the live video, felt the attachment and released the attachment to stop on a dime fast.

Proceed by Values Not Vehicles

Proceed in life according to your values. Values flow from within; only you decide to change your values.

But vehicles flow from without. Vehicles change.

I value helping people. One vehicle – live broadcasting – changed. I released the vehicle but remained true to my values. I help people through a different vehicle; this guest post. Do you see why stopping on a dime gives you peace of mind? Remain true to your values. Feel good aligning with certain principles. Be at peace knowing you remain true to you. But changing with the changing nature of vehicles – things, tools, strategies – helps you seamlessly, calmly and confidently live aligned with your values while you gracefully use different things to get the job done.

Horse to Car

Back in the day, people used horses as the prime means of transport. Horses proved to be effective in getting from point A to point B. People who valued transporting themselves used horses to get around.

Henry Ford designed and built automobiles. Wise people saw cars as a better way to get around. If you valued freedom of movement, you stopped on a dime, bought a car and changed with change, using different means to get around. Fools clung miserably to horseback riding as the sole means of traveling for longer distances.

Eventually, most people who valued traveling for sustained distances invested in cars to get around. Humans evolve only if they remain resolute in staying true to their values but flexible in using tools, techniques or strategies to get the job done.

Changing seamlessly means proceeding by values, not specific vehicles. Vehicles change. 20 years ago, people used this thing called a weblog like it was an alien tool. Few people weblogged, at that. But humans who deeply valued sharing their thoughts to help people online evolved as blogging evolved from Typepad to fully branded, customizable, powerful, influential platforms.

Meanwhile, some people who desperately want to share their thoughts with the world fear buying their domain and hosting to begin blogging, writing in notepads offline because they attach themselves to tools versus deeply honoring their values in authentic fashion. Fearing a new, uncomfortable tool drowns out your values, creating bondage, misery and unhappiness.

The world sprints by rigid people. The world becomes malleable in the hands of people who change with change in order to remain true to their values.