Changing the Lens: The Plan Part 2

“No one can persuade another to change. Each of us guards a gate of change that can only be opened from the inside. We cannot open the gate of another, either by argument or by emotional appeal.” – Marilyn Ferguson

Why do I write a blog? For me and me alone, there is no altruism, at least not here. I write it for reflection. I write it to stimulate desire, as a source of motivation, to create a sense of danger and vulnerability. Why do I share it with you? I want to be accountable, failures and all. I want a place of confession. Perhaps I want to inspire. but more so than any other purpose, this blog is for this guy right here. Take from that what you will and read it, if for no other reason but to act as priest(ess) to my meandering confessions.

Going back to the Paradigm Shift. In Covey’s book, The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People, I have already found a gem, a new lens through which to instigate personal change. He calls it the “P/PC Balance”: P = Product, PC = Production Capabilities. Now before you start thinking of this formula as seemingly financial in theory The term product/production tends to evoke a business sense), try to see it as a formula that works for all aspects of human independent and interpersonal relationship. It is a scale that, tipped to far in either way, will completely destroy the functioning abilities of the scale itself.

For example, in personal health, I think of my heart as the source of my Production Capability (PC) and my ability to exist in the world as my Product (P). Because my heart is in working order I am able to enjoy the extravagance that life can offer; I can eat food that I enjoy, I can have drinks with friends, I can travel, I can spend time with family, I can make a living, I can enjoy my favorite TV shows. These are the products of a working heart. Now say, I spend all my time enjoying and focusing on the products but never spend any time on making sure that my heart is healthfully maintained, now my Production Capability begins to falter, now I have less energy to enjoy the Product, and may end up having less time (another Product) to enjoy those things. I have not maintained a healthy balance between the PC and the P (Hah, PCP). Now say we tip the scale the other way and focus heavy on the Production Capability (PC). We spend all our time doing cardiovascular exercise and only spend our spare time at work. We live a long healthy life but never fully enjoy the benefits of that life, we have neglected the Product. It’s essentially the same as burying your life savings in a coffee can, never to be invested, never to be used, never to be inherited.

How does Covey’s “P/PC Balance” work in other aspects of life? How about personal relationships? Business? Finance? Love life? Creativity? Activism? Politics? You name it?

You tell me! Write some examples in the comments below. Let’s talk about it.

Now, all that Paradigm Shift, and PCP bullshit being said, what now?

Last year, I made one huge mistake and it’s fully reinforced in the title of this blog; I went for the “Get rich quick,” 30 day approach to personal change. I set short term goals that weren’t reinforced by the evolution of personal foundations; I didn’t shift any paradigms. I wanted to change superficial elements of myself that were hindering my advancement in life without attacking the the fundamentals, the foundational elements that effect the way I view the everyday aspects of life.

This time around the idea of “30 Days” is simply a frame through which I will be writing. The work will take far longer than 30 Days. This month will be a glimpse into the shifting paradigm.

The Plan: No more specific, short term goals. No more “Only eating pizza twice a week,” or, “Cutting my drinking back to special occasions,” or, “Losing this amount of weight in this amount of time.” This time, though I will set goals, the idea is as long as the paradigm continues to shift and fine tune, the we are progressing. As long as I am working towards the balance of Product versus Production Capabilities, I am successful. As long as I am chalking up failures as motivation rather than discouragement, I am winning.

Below is the foundations for a plan of the human being that I would like to work towards being in three specific slivers of my life; Health/Fitness, Finance and Art/Activism. It is detailed in terms of Production Capability (PC), Product (P) and the consequences of Imbalance (I). The goals I will set in the next post are timeless goals, they will always be evolving, always improving, and always working toward a better quality and longevity of life.

Health/Fitness:

Diet:

1. PC: I spoke of this last year when I mentioned that I had never truly listened to my body before. My body is my Production Facility, I have no product without it. It constantly speaks to me in varying degrees whether in agreement or disagreement, and I often choose to ignore it when it disagrees with me and it is to my own peril to do so. My paradigm shift here for the start is to recognize that within each choice I make with my diet, there are consequences in the product of that choice whether good or bad. Everything I put into my body speaks to it in a particular way, I need to learn that language and apply it.
2. P: The Products of positive communication with my body: More energy, less stress, weight loss, better heart function, better digestive function (Yep, pooping gets better), better brain function including increased memory and focus, higher self confidence (Harder to feel confident when you’re bloated, trust me), increased stamina and endurance, fine tuned fitness prep, etc.
3. I: Results of imbalance are: Less energy, more stress, weight gain, higher risk of heart disease and many other health problems, BAD POOPING EXPERIENCES, lower self esteem, depression, lethargy, laziness, etc. Or if I put too much focus on the PC then I can never enjoy FroYo or the occasional slice of pizza, etc…

Physical Fitness:

1. PC: My body is my factory. Since last year this is one of the few areas that I stuck to though not as consistently as it was at the start it is still something I consciously have made a part of my life and that I have come to enjoy. The one hinderance to the advancement of my physical fitness is a poor relationship with time that is a result of sleep issues that likely stem from alcohol use and an over active brain.
2. P: Increased confidence, decrease in episodes of depression, more active sex drive, a stronger heart, heightened endurance and stamina, I can carry heavy shit, less likely to get jumped, heightened serotonin, endorphins are released, etc…
3. I:Weight gain, lowered self confidence, less strength and stamina, you get the point, it’s just the opposite of all the stuff I wrote above. If I focus too heavily on the PC here, I risk injury, I may miss out on other, more social activities, people might call me a meathead (That’s a no-go for me).

Mental Health:

1. PC: This includes my spirit and my mind. As a person who deals with depression this is a particular important Production Capability that seems to live in an abstraction and is therefore incredibly delicate and incredibly vital to the support of all other aspects of my life, in and out of topic within this blog.
2. P: Simply Joy.
3. I: Simply the lack of Joy
4. Note: If my Mental/Spiritual Health is in balance, all else becomes cake, like REEEAAAALLLLY GOOOOOD CAKE, like the best cake you’ve ever had but it’s also healthy. We’ll talk more about this one in a later post.

Finance:

Income:

1. PC: My PC here is my job. I work in the service industry and this seems to provide fairly well in terms of money but it also has its shortcomings which lead into all other aspects of my personal development. The question here is whether or not it is beneficial to continue in this industry or to seek other ways of producing money. I find that as the paradigm shifts in other elements the need for money somewhat decreases (i.e. Money spent on alcohol). However if I were able to continue in this industry while my paradigms continue to shift, I will have created the means to find enjoyment in so many other levels of life.
2. P: Cash on hand, friendships, the ability to find financial stability, a sense of autonomy and independence, a social environment.
3. I: So many imbalances are possible here; drink too much, anger, sleep imbalances, limited outside social contact (The only friends I really see are those I work with), and so many more.

Expenses:

1. PC: Strangely enough the PC here is determined by my income but results in my ability to live life in a comfortable manor. I recently watched a Documentary on Netflix titled, The Minimalists, and they discussed the idea of questioning purchases (which include data plans, clothes, movies, bills, etc.) by asking yourself this simple question, “Will this add or take away value from my life?” So that question is where I start with my Production Capability is the ability of whatever it is that I decide to purchase to add value in my life (This is the balanced side) or detract value in my life (This the imbalanced). The more I understand what truly adds value to my life the greater the paradigm will shift and ultimately I will save more money than I spend.
2. P: Greater sense of self worth, freedom, less fear, heightened contentment, greater likelihood of travel and enriching experience, better support to reach other goals, etc…

Art/Activism:

I want to find a way to put these two concepts at the forefront of my human action and interaction. I suspect that it may fall into place as a result of the shifting paradigms in Personal Health/Fitness and Finance but I intend to keep a finger to the pulse of the changing tide as I research some volunteer possibilities and manage my time in order to further pursue my artistic endeavors. I need to create the foundation on which a whole new system can live here. I’m not sure what it looks like yet, and it will be a learning experience but expect to see some big ideas coming in this department soon.

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So that’s it for today. Getting my shit together is going to be tough, deep tissue work but my sleeves are rolled up and I got my get-dirty jeans on so let’s turn it up.