Getting Things (And Ourselves) To Change

Image by Dariusz Sankowski from Pixabay

We all have ideas about where things should ideally be in our lives. Our work should look like this, or our political situation should operate like that. Our relationships should function in this particular way or our personal friendships should manifest themselves differently.

We tend to pore over what these idealized end-states ought to look like - often in excruciating and emotional detail. But getting “there” can be extremely difficult, a journey where the path is entirely uncertain or, worse, impossible to traverse.

As a result, we grow frustrated, paralyzed, ultimately becoming stuck in our own inertia. What’s the point, after all? And so. all forward momentum stops. 

Perhaps what we actually need is a change of perspective. All-or-nothing approaches are swings for the fences, and a better starting point is to optimize, starting from where we are now. 

David Brooks wrote an interesting column recently that provided a compelling perspective on this very point of view - how we should seek change, in whatever realm we’re considering. He says:

It is common these days to think that the way to do political and social change is: Think of the ideal system, then move to that. But the better way to make social change is: Think of the ideal system, then get as close as you can, given the restraints of human nature, and our own situation.

In the unconstrained vision, you ask: What’s the solution? In a constrained vision you ask: What’s the best set of trade-offs and reforms we can actually achieve?

That makes a lot of sense to me. We should all agree that small actions and forward momentum (at whatever pace) are better than none at all. And by realistically assessing where we are and defining tangible steps from there, we can begin to optimize from where we are, while continuing to agitate (positively) for that utopian future state. 

Note that the suggestion isn’t that that utopian dream has no value. On the contrary, it’s an essential fuel, a vision and ideal that drives us forward, and one that powers us to strive for real change. 

But we can’t forget that there is a journey to be had. And that journey begins with tangible steps to improve where we are today, steps that will ultimately get us to the “there” we dream about.