Transformation is all the rage these days. President Obama campaigned on fundamental transformation. House Speaker, Nancy Pelosi, stated that the Health Care bill was transformational. Many an organization claims to be focused on transformation. I ask the question, "How does one get there?" In this journey through life I am coming to understand that there are three parts or stages to true transformation.
The first two steps of transformation seem to be interchangeable in terms of which comes first. What is important is that they are both present at some stage. For the purpose of flow I will call this the first stage, Output. Output is the energy we use in the process of transformation. You could look at it like practice or exercise. For instance, in my attempt to get in shape I am lifting weights. The amount of time, the exercises I do, and the amount of weight I lift are all parts of the output process. In essence, I'm working on the outside.
The second step of the process is Input. Input is what you are putting into the mind, body, or soul. As it has been said, "Garbage in, Garbage out." Or, "You are what you eat." I must pause to interject at this moment. In the process of physical transformation I am struggling on the input side. My diet is at times atrocious. As much as I hit the gym, as strong as I am getting, the full results can't be seen because of my high fat diet (fried foods, beer, and BBQ). It would almost seem to be a waste...but it's not. Like I said, you have to have one of these present. The order is not so much of consequence as long as you get there.
I have had a change in input outside of food. I have changed what I watch, what I read, what I spend my time thinking about, and my complete outlook on life and worldview. Case in point; I used to watch and listen to all types of political news 24/7. As I examined my mood and mind set I saw a need to let go of these things. I even had to let go of Christian programming and sports radio.
These things all had one thing in common, complaining. Political talking heads complained about the state of the nation, sports complain about the state of the teams they covered, and Christians complain about the state of just about everything because of the impossibility of reaching perfection this side of earth. The place I was in just couldn't handle the constant onslaught of negativity. I have noticed a marked change in my mood since changing my input.
Input without a doubt is a needed ingredient on the path to transformation. If I were to make the necessary changes to my diet (input) I would be seeing significant transformation in my body, energy level, and overall health. You can not just push, push, push, without taking in what is needed. There is a balance needed. If you only do the output you will simply add to what you already have and that will be a mess. If you change the input you may find a change but not complete (no shape, form, or strength). There is one last piece to all this that can not be forsaken.
The final piece to transformation is Attitude. If I change my diet, workout hard, but don't change my attitude, I'm in a world of trouble. I used to view working out as a hassle, boring, something you have to make yourself do-not something you want to do. If I maintain that mentality about working out it won't be long before I stop going altogether. Same thing with eating healthy (which is the problem). If I think of healthy eating as a pain no change will last. Attitude is the central nervous center of change. It is the gas for the car of transformation. Change your attitude, change your life.
I am on my way to long lasting change. It takes time and effort but I'm not afraid of either one of those. I'm doing good on the output side. Great on the attitude. Soon the input will be efficient and then what is hidden on the inside will be revealed on the outside. 3 Steps, 3 Stages, True Transformation.
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