If you’ve seen me speak you have likely heard me quote this–it’s one of my all-time favorite quotes. And while I can’t prove it, I think it might be the basis of the modern definition of insanity. You know, the one that defines insanity as “doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results?“
What makes the Socrates quote brilliant is that he recognizes there is a trifecta related to how we’re able to change and evolve and transition. He recognizes what the insanity definition doesn’t, that sometimes it’s what we do that makes all the difference. Nike build a whole advertising campaign around that. But he also recognizes that sometimes, doing isn’t always the best approach. As Will Rogers said: “If you find yourself in a hole – stop digging!” Sometimes, “doing” can make things worse. In that case, it might be what we think or how we feel that makes all the difference.
Great leaders have the ability to stop, look and consider all their options. As a personal leader, you have the power to change any one of those things – your actions, your thoughts, your feelings. If changing your action doesn’t get you the results you want, change your thinking. If changing your thinking doesn’t get the results you want, change your feelings, or find a powerful combination that suits the needs and demands of the situation. One thing is for sure, however, if we just think in terms of what we “do” or that philosophy that says “it doesn’t matter what you do, do something, something is better than nothing, you can’t change sitting still,” then we are stuck in our actions as the only mechanism for change, and we’re missing two thirds of the most tools available to us.
