Minor Adjustments: "Anywhere But Backward"Sample

"Minor Adjustments"

If you are going to get something you never got, you will have to do something you never did. Mr. Williams said that the first time he used a chainsaw; he would cut everything in sight. He would cut the trees that were standing up, lying down in the dirt, or wherever. But the chain would get dull quickly. He would get it sharpened and start to cut some more, but the same thing would happen: the chain would get dull again. Then this older gentleman told him that the reason why the chain is getting dull is because he was letting it hit the DIRT. So he learned that to make it work how it was designed, he had to make some MINOR ADJUSTMENTS.

• The word minor means lesser, as in size, extent, or importance, or being or noting the lesser of two.

· What’s minor for you to change in your life, but seems hard?

· What minor work have you done on the inside?

· What’s important to you?

· What minor changes have you made on the outside?

The reason why his chain kept getting dull was because of the dirt; the chain represents YOU, and the dirt represents WHAT YOU DO. If you are going to get something you never got, you will have to do something you never did. As long as you’re doing what you supposed to be doing (something positive), your chain will stay sharp. But once you start putting your chain in dirt (something negative) it’ll become dull, and you will have to repeat the same steps over and over and over again, just like he had to with that chainsaw. 

Just like when the soldiers come back home, after they've been in combat or the edge of it, and suddenly that adjustment back to civilian life becomes a real challenge. It will be the same for you! A man or woman is not rightly conditioned until they are a happy, healthy, and prosperous being; and happiness, health, and prosperity are the result of a harmonious Adjustment of the inner with the outer of the man/woman with their surroundings. 

• The word adjustment means the operation of bringing all the parts into their proper relative position for use.

· Who tells you what you should or need to adjust in your life?

· What adjustments have you made so far?

· Do you think conditioning your mind is a great practice to take up?

· Do you allow your surroundings to control you?

Adjustments are not easy in this world that constantly tells us to “look out for number one.” But we should look out for others first and then ourselves. Sometimes you lose more than you win. It's about handling losses and trying to turn them into positives. When a baseball player gets called up from the minor league, they go into the big leagues, and there's a period of adjustment to be made on their part. They have to adjust. It’s no more time left for them to be getting ready, they have to be ready to perform in the big leagues or get sent back down to the minors. Are you ready for the BIG LEAGUES?