Holy Discontent #6

Chapter 7, Magnetic Living by Bill Hybels
University of Michigan business school professor Robert Quinn wrote a book and the theory of a "fundamental state" resonated with Bill Hybels.
"Essentially, it says that when a person is gripped by a powerful passion (or driven by a holy discontent, you might say), he or she literally enters into a completely different state of mind; in fact, they shift mental gears altogether and begin operating on an entirely new level.

According to Quinn, people can actually migrate at will from what he calls the "normal state" to a place known as the "fundamental state." this is helpful to know, especially since you may be stuck in the "normal state" without even knowing it. Here's how to tell: in the normal state, you're almost entirely self-absorbed. You have a reactive approach to life. And you try to maintain the status quo, regardless how unbearable the status quo is. Professor Quinn puts it this way in his book, Building the Bridge as You Walk On It: "When we accept the world as it is [by living in the normal state], we deny our ability to see something better, and hence our ability to be something better. We become what we behold." What's not normal, Professor Quinn says, is embracing the fact that another state exists.

"To remain in the normal state us ultimately to choose slow death," asserts Quinn. The normal state is so self-seeking that you can spin your wheels for a lifetime and never once impact the world around you. In the fundamental state, however, people care so much about getting results that they begin to move and breathe in a totally different realm. They operate with intentionality. They act with massive doses of enthusiasm and persistence. They surrender their ego because the cause simply can't afford their pride. They open themselves up to any and all new ideas and forms of input - regardless where those suggestions come from.

People who operate in a "fundamental" state of mind concentrate at higher levels and focus more intensely because the goal they're pursuing demands it. They take risks they wouldn't normally take . . . because they have to - there's too much at stake not to! Their creativity kicks up a notch. Their energy soars. Their passion swells.

The moral of the story is that a bad day lived from the energy of your holy discontent is far better than the best day lived anywhere else.

...When you step into the fundamental state, not only will you change "states," abut you will draw others into that new state too. Think about this for a moment: when you spend time in the fundamental state, you become an increasingly attractive person. ... you experience a buzz that you'll never want to end, a marvelous dynamic I call magnetic living."

No comment for today, I think Bill said it all!