Embracing Change: Reflections from a life story by Christopher Chikwanah

Author:Christopher Chikwanah
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Christopher Chikwanah
Published: 2020-08-29T00:00:00+00:00

“People with great passion can make the impossible happen.”

(Unknown)

Chapter Seven

Maintaining Your Passion

You might not appreciate why hundreds of thousands of football and other sporting fans spend millions of pounds (or whatever currency) on travelling, memorabilia and season or one-off tickets. Why do they do it? Why are they totally sold-out and so doggedly driven and spurred on by their pursuits?

This pattern of behaviour and determination is displayed and exhibited all over the world. It seems to transcend a lot of barriers and knows no race, class, creed, age or status. The CEO will rub shoulders with the janitor at a football match. Both will shout, cheer on their team and support their cause, oblivious to societal constructs. This appears to be the case regardless of whether the cause (sporting or otherwise) is worthwhile, extremely radical or flawed in its nature, purpose or outcomes.

I have asked myself the same questions pertaining to the changes I have encountered. When we moved from Zambia to Zimbabwe, something drove those who made the decision on my behalf. What was it? When I reached the age of accountability, something drove me to make the decisions I made in response to the change-related challenges I faced, irrespective of whether those changes were self-determined or triggered by circumstances beyond my own control. What drove me?

When I moved to the UK, I was driven by something yet again. In this instance, my drive could have easily been classified as survival instincts – instincts to achieve something, to care and provide for my family. I believe that was partly true. However, I also believe that there was and is another dimension to what drives a person. A lot of times, what appears to be the obvious driving force or motivating factor is not what actually spurs somebody on. Rather, this drive is being fuelled by something deeper.

Often, the tendency and pattern in life is to judge what is seen. People will often see and focus on the behaviour or action rather than the root cause of that behaviour. We can learn a lot from what I term the ‘diagnostic world’. Diagnosis is important because it delves into the causative factors of a matter, and it informs and directs the outcome(s) with which to deal with whatever is at hand.

Where am I going with this? When we are faced with any sort of change or when there is a need for it, it is easy to go one of two ways. On the one hand, we may refrain from making any decisions, while on the other hand, we may make rash, knee-jerk decisions. The latter is a particularly common reaction when a person is not guided by our next P of change. From my own life experiences of change, I can say there is a common thread linking all the things I have mentioned that could give us an answer.

I believe it is PASSION.

According to Jim Collins, “Nothing can happen without beginning with passion.”1 Citing Tod Bolsinger, Collins states, “True urgency [and focus] … is centred on the passion and vision.

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