The publication featured the theme, “Reinvent.” Reinventing is one of the ways of changing. The publication actually changed/reinvented its format to illustrate that even it understood the importance of the topic.
The issue featured many articles on how to transform your business and your life. The magazine, as usual, had some great articles on such topics as “How to Bounce Back from Adversity” and “Strategy Tools for a Shifting Landscape.” However, I found two shorter articles especially intriguing.
The first article, “Success Gets into Your Head—and Changes It,” told how neuroscientists recognize how the brain can rewire itself in response to experience. They call this “neuroplasticity.” The article explained how research was showing that successful acts actually make the brain more efficient, which could lead to more success.
The second article, “The Long-Term Effects of Short-Term Emotion,” claim that a decision made during a negative emotional moment may be made the same way in the future, even when the person no longer has an emotional attachment when making a decision. Let me illustrate by making up my own example. Let’s say one of your suppliers sells you defective products, and you become frustrated or angry and have some kind of strong reaction. Later you have to make some other decisions about your business. When you make those later decisions, you may react in a negative manner, even though the decisions have nothing negative about them. And thus you could make a poor decision.
It seems that scientists are working to explain how human beings act. When businesspeople understand their actions, perhaps they can change to be more successful or less negative. All this is good. Pure science will align with the Word.
But we don’t need science to explain our actions. For us to walk successfully, we have to apply the Word to our actions. For example, Paul explains to the Ephesians some of the changes they will be making as they learn from Christ. He says,
But you have not so learned Christ, if indeed you have heard Him and have been taught by Him, as the truth is in Jesus: that you put off, concerning your former conduct, the old man which grows corrupt according to the deceitful lusts, and be renewed in the spirit of your mind, and that you put on the new man which was created according to God, in true righteousness and holiness. Therefore, putting away lying, "Let each one of you speak truth with his neighbor," for we are members of one another. "Be angry, and do not sin": do not let the sun go down on your wrath…. (Eph 4:20-27, NKJV)
You change as you “are renewed in the spirit of your mind.” Your actions become different. You treat people differently. You don’t carry grudges or a long-term strong emotional attachment to a decision. So we will continually change. And that is good.
Who knows? Someday a scientist may study your “neuroplasticity” and find that you are not “conformed to the world” but instead operate successfully from a Kingdom perspective.
