RUTS: Duplication and Repetition

Once again, here are some of the original thoughts that I had jotted down from a recent sermon that I heard on "ruts":
A path or routine you follow day after day
A rut is fixed, rigid
A rut is not creative
A rut is not flexible
A rut cannot change easily
A rut is a route that is safe and gets me there
** "A rut is a grave with both ends knocked out"

I've pointed this out every time I've spoken about in via the podcast or even in writing through the blog but, DID YOU NOTICE THAT LAST ONE?



Today, I'm going to discuss the FACT that even "duplication" and "repetition" can become dangerous ruts.  Like most ruts, they can be something that brings about good, positive results but, as already mentioned, they can also become very dangerous and detrimental.

 

If you are involved (or have been involved) in any "work-from-home opportunity" or "home business" then you are very familiar with the terms, "duplication" and "repetition". For those of you that haven't, "duplication" is the word used to describe a program that has an "easy to follow system" that can be "duplicated" (or followed and copied) by anyone that follows the system or pattern. "Repetition" simply speaks to the idea of then following and implementing that "duplicatable system" over and over again.

 

Many times those promoting duplication and repetition will compare the process to that of following a recipe. If you follow the recipe for an apple pie, you won't come out with biscuits and gravy.

 

Makes sense, right?

 

However, if someone gives you their own personal recipe for a cake they have never cooked because they have never cooked ANYTHING before then, chances are, the "cake" that is produced is not going to be much of a cake (if even that!) even though you follow the recipe exactly. And, no matter how many times you follow - or repeat - that "recipe", the result will always be the same.

 

Does THAT make sense?

 

It should and, yet, so many people "blindly" follow a "recipe" that is doomed for failure and are surprised and disappointed when they end up with exactly that...FAILURE.

 

So, if what you duplicate and repeat is a system that produces failure or inferior results then, guess what? You'll get the same thing. Sometimes, there actually may be a better way to do what has been done before. Rarely is this not true. At some point in time things change and improve (including ideas, thoughts and opinions).

 

I'm sorry but, if someone promotes their recipe for an "incredible - the MOST amazing - chocolate cake that has EVER been created then - guess what? - they should be able to produce a sample of their own product that has come from following that recipe. Right?

 

If you ask them for that "sample" and they tell you, "Well, I have never been successful at making that cake BUT I know someone else that has!" Then, if you ask them if it was the person that gave them the recipe and they say, "No, but it was the person that first introduced this recipe to the person that gave it to the person that gave it to the person that gave it to the person that told me about it"...will you be convinced of the "incredible and amazing" features of this recipe?

 

NOPE.

 

I know this flies in the face of just about every "opportunity" out there and the system by which so many in these "opportunities" swear, but friend, how does this mindset even make sense?

 

Be careful WHAT you follow, WHO you follow and WHY you choose to follow them.

 

Think about this: the blind can easily lead the blind in a rut. Why? Because, again, a rut controls your path and direction. That's the very nature of a rut.

 

Take the time to listen to the podcast (see the two links below) to get more of my thoughts on this, but here's the thing to be aware of even with "duplication" and "repetition": BOTH of these (duplication and repetition) could be a rut or turn into a rut if you are not careful.

 

I will close out this series in the next article, be sure to join me then. Until that time, always be sure to...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike

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Keep On Trying!

Keep On Trying!

What you will notice as we go through this "Positive Alphabet" is that many of the thoughts mentioned are repetitive! There are many that you will notice the same thing being said, just in a different way.

Is that a bad thing? NO!

Repetition is a good and NECESSARY thing as we attempt to transform our lives by absorbing these principles being covered in these podcasts and blogs!

I found this article by Michael Tipper on this website, entitled: "Why Repetition is so Important"- http://www.happychild.org.uk/acc/tpr/amz/1198rept.htm

"When you create a memory, a pathway is created between your brain cells. It is like clearing a path through a dense forest. The first time that you do it, you have to fight your way through the undergrowth.

If you don't travel that path again, very quickly it will become overgrown and you may not even realise that you have been down that path. If however, you travel along that path before it begins to grow over, you will find it easier than your first journey along that way.
Successive journeys down that path mean that eventually your track will turn into a footpath, which will turn into a lane, which will turn into a road, and into a motorway and so on.

It is the same with your memory: the more times that you repeat patterns of thought, for example when learning new information, the more likely you will be able to recall that information. So repetition is a key part of learning."

Wow! Did you get that? Think about the analogy used in this article and apply that to us as we attempt to improve our lives by "going against the grain" in our negative society! We are literally "clearing a path through a dense forest" as we "hack" our way out of the negativity that we have allowed into our lives! We have allowed it to take root and to grow - but now we have decided to move out of that situation and to improve our lives. IT'S NOT EASY and it's NOT a "one-time activity". This is what we discussed just a few articles ago!

You see, when you START this process and then QUIT (even for a time) you will find it difficult once again. "Oh, but it shouldn't be that way! I already started the process!" Yes, but you allowed the "weeds" to grow back up and now you must cut them down again!

You ceased momentum! The very law of momentum is that it is very difficult to get something started moving from a dead stand-still. HOWEVER, once you DO finally get it to start moving, MOMENTUM helps KEEP it going until it takes less and less effort to move that "something" along!

And YES, momentum CAN cease and we will have to start all over again!

So, KEEP ON TRYING! Every single day!

Do NOT give in to the idea of failure! Thomas Edison saw each "failure" on his way to the invention of the light bulb as one more way learned that didn't work - don't do it that way again!

Soon...you'll go beyond "trying" and you'll be FLYING!

(Yeah, I know - sounds kinda corny - but it's TRUE!).

It's not easy to start, but it is a necessity! Begin the JOURNEY now...today! And don't give up, don't give in, don't surrender but....KEEP ON TRYING!

And, all along the way, make sure that you...

"Make it an AWESOME day! (Who else is going to do it for you?)"

Mike