Friday, October 06, 2006
Pushing a Chain-Part 2
In part one I mentioned how starting a new project is like pushing a chain down the road. You encounter new and increasing resistance from seemingly everywhere. I also mentioned that this happens to everyone and is universal.
I would like to continue the analogy of the chain a little further. Suppose we have a pile of chain that we are pushing to the side of the road. The side of the road is a cliff or steep drop off. As we push the chain near the edge a few links fall over the edge and begin to drag other links of chain over the edge with them. Soon the chain is being pulled over the edge by it's own weight and you couldn't stop it if you tried.
This also happens in real life when your project reaches a certain point where it becomes self-sustaining and develops it's own momentum. This may happen quickly or it may take a long time. The point is that if it never happens there is something wrong with your project. It makes no sense to expend energy on something that brings no return. That is a poor investment of time and energy.
In scientific terms this is also how a quantum leap is made. Our pile of chain has gone from the center of the road to the side of the road with our help and then as it falls over the cliff it makes a quantum leap into a radically new postion at the bottom of the cliff.
You can see this concept at work in all areas of life. Things resist change almost like they had rubber bands attatched to them. As we apply more effort the final resistance is overcome and things rapidly snap into place like they were propelled by those same rubber bands!
Once they are in the new position they stabalize and resist further change. They have made a quantum leap and now they are trying to maintain the new position.
This concept is so pervasive I could give thousands of examples. You go to college and study hard and it seems like you will never finish. After several years the final resistance falls away and almost like magick you graduate. You have made a quantum leap into a new state of being, that of a college graduate. It is a permanent change and brings personal empowerment and the chance of better employment options.
A final observation is that the resistance portion of this cycle takes a long time and the quantum leap portion happens almost immediately. This is why most of our lives seem caught up in struggles. The transitional successes are of short duration as they propel us into a higher state of being.
I would like to continue the analogy of the chain a little further. Suppose we have a pile of chain that we are pushing to the side of the road. The side of the road is a cliff or steep drop off. As we push the chain near the edge a few links fall over the edge and begin to drag other links of chain over the edge with them. Soon the chain is being pulled over the edge by it's own weight and you couldn't stop it if you tried.
This also happens in real life when your project reaches a certain point where it becomes self-sustaining and develops it's own momentum. This may happen quickly or it may take a long time. The point is that if it never happens there is something wrong with your project. It makes no sense to expend energy on something that brings no return. That is a poor investment of time and energy.
In scientific terms this is also how a quantum leap is made. Our pile of chain has gone from the center of the road to the side of the road with our help and then as it falls over the cliff it makes a quantum leap into a radically new postion at the bottom of the cliff.
You can see this concept at work in all areas of life. Things resist change almost like they had rubber bands attatched to them. As we apply more effort the final resistance is overcome and things rapidly snap into place like they were propelled by those same rubber bands!
Once they are in the new position they stabalize and resist further change. They have made a quantum leap and now they are trying to maintain the new position.
This concept is so pervasive I could give thousands of examples. You go to college and study hard and it seems like you will never finish. After several years the final resistance falls away and almost like magick you graduate. You have made a quantum leap into a new state of being, that of a college graduate. It is a permanent change and brings personal empowerment and the chance of better employment options.
A final observation is that the resistance portion of this cycle takes a long time and the quantum leap portion happens almost immediately. This is why most of our lives seem caught up in struggles. The transitional successes are of short duration as they propel us into a higher state of being.
# posted by alligator @ 4:51 PM 
