Nothing is Forever!

On a recent Monday morning meet Marshall Goldsmith raised an intriguing question.

Why do people stop doing something when it has been proven to work?

Two MG100 coaches had instituted practices that led their companies to unbelievable success. When they left, their respective companies went back to being who they were and performance and stock price plummeted.

Why did this happen?

His hypothesis was that the executives believed that their success was ‘assured’ and they no longer had to work to maintain their performance levels. It’s like you go on an exercise and healthy eating binge and reach your ideal weight. You think you have ‘arrived’ and go back to your old habits and promptly regain your lost weight.

Nothing lasts forever. If you have reached a plateau you like, you must work to remain there. Otherwise, you slide back.

And even with the work you do, you cannot remain on that plateau forever. Consumer preferences change. Economic environments alter. Political headwinds arise. And you have to make corresponding changes.

Nothing is permanent. But we are constantly seeking permanence in a world where nothing lasts forever. I have written about this in an earlier blog.

Ponder this deeply.

You are aging. Stuff that you did easily a decade ago requires more effort today. Tomorrow you may need a cane and then a walker. And then it will be time for you to move on.

Do so gracefully. Let go of your mortal coil peacefully and with joy. Not with tears and a desperate clinging that makes life hard for both you and your loved ones.

The only way you can do this is by making peace with the reality that nothing in this world is permanent. Anything that is in time and space will alter and disappear. Even the planet that you are on and the sun that shines on it will go some day.

Think about it.

Peace!