Evolve or Dissolve

Posted on October 28, 2015 Updated on December 4, 2015

We hope to become more than we are because stagnancy is a recipe for momentum lost. But change is often the one thing we fight against. We’re afraid to admit that there are weaknesses that can be improved upon; otherwise, our ego takes over and convinces us that there is absolutely nothing wrong with us. And maybe this is true, but the history of Earth is the story of evolving.

When the word “evolution” or “evolve” is brought up, of course religion or the religious might start to feel defensive. However, evolution doesn’t have to equate with anti-religious or pro-science views. I found an excerpt from the article[1] “The Controversy of Evolution” describes it best:

“Confusion arises when scientific results are interpreted as being in conflict with such traditional teachings. They are not, where religious teachings concentrate on ethical behavior and do not presume to provide textbooks for astronomy, geology, or biology.”

Subtracting religion from the argument, our planet and all of its species and life forms in it have evolved over billions of years. Because evolution is an inevitability we cannot escape. It’s not just personal evolution or that of a biological component, but evolution on a business or even technological scale.

We all know that one or maybe two people who refuse to use the Internet. They may even protest against cell phones and anything “new.” They are techonlogy-haters. Yes, there are people out there that still use landlines. I know, shocking. Some refuse to use social media, even though it’s essentially the new way to connect with the world and also market new products as well as a decent promotional tool to create a buzz about individuals.

If a company doesn’t evolve and understand new trends, it will remain behind the curve. Competitors will embrace change and will surround themselves with the brightest talent capable of foreseeing the latest and greatest, and willingly and fearlessly jump into the current of metamorphosis.

Ironically, this reminds me of Metallica, one of my all time favorite metal bands. When these Rock ‘N Roll gods noticed the early 1990s trend towards grunge and that head-banging was no longer in fashion, they adjusted their image accordingly and all got a hair cut along with an evolved sound. Still many consider the metal classic “Master of Puppets” to be their all-time best song and album, even as their recent albums aren’t what they used to be. Still, Metallica has remained relevant when most of their “hair-band” contemporaries faded away long ago. These other bands didn’t heed the changing times and do what it took to stay together and evolve their sound, their persona to attract a new generation of listeners.

In our personal lives, evolution takes a more painful path because it involves getting out of our comfort zone. When we are faced with what we need to do to alter ourselves, we often make excuses. Suddenly, our flaws are simply brushed off as “that’s just how I am.” But is it, really?

Are you convinced there is absolutely nothing that you can’t improve upon? Seriously? We all know these types of people. Ones that feel they are without flaws, or at least are too proud to admit them. But as we all know, there is no such thing as a perfect human.

[2]A Huffington Post article describes conscious evolution much better than I can:

“The power of conscious choice, or free agency, is unique to human beings as far as we know. You and I are highly evolved individuated selves who have been blessed with the extraordinary capacity for self-reflective awareness and the freedom to choose.”

The Bottom Line:

When we refuse to evolve, we become unchanged. We become routine and a shell of our potential. Change challenges our comfort zones. The self that can and should evolve, disintegrates into that same unchanged reflection that we’ve lived with, that reflection we know that can be so much more.

Change is good. It’s often difficult, and yes, it usually comes with a huge life lesson, one that we will likely not repeat especially if it’s a mistake we’ve made. But, mistakes we learn from and from our hardships, we likely become better humans as a direct result. We shouldn’t fear evolution. When we evolve, that means we are growing. If we aren’t growing, then we’re stuck.

If we don’t evolve we dissolve.

[1] http://earthguide.ucsd.edu/virtualmuseum/litu/06_1.shtml

[2] http://www.huffingtonpost.com/andrew-z-cohen/what-is-conscious-evolutiion_b_985902.html