The True Definition of Insanity

Jason and I were talking with a friend the other night, and the friend asked, "What is the definition of insanity?" We weren't really sure if he was looking for a textbook definition, or if wanted a personal example to tell how we defined insanity. He didn't give us too much time to think about it. He went on to explain that the true definition of insanity is the expectation that one could achieve different results in a particular situation without doing anything different to get the desired result. Okay, I know that sounded a little confusing. Stay with me. Another friend of ours always says, "If you keep on doing what you've always done, you're gonna keep on gettin' what you always got." Now, even though that sentence doesn't even come close to being grammatically correct, it makes the point a little more clearly. It is INSANE to think that we can keep on doing the same things over and over and somehow expect that our result will ever change.

Change is hard for us all. But think about it. Do any of us have a perfect life? Of course not. Are we always happy with the direction that we are headed in, or the decisions that we have made? Always? No, of course not. I think that it is human nature to expect things to work out the way that we want them to, and to be upset when they don't. But, what responsibility do we personally need to take when things don't go our way?

Let’s face it; if we have a leaky faucet, we try to fix it. If we can’t fix it, we may ask a friend for help. If they are unsuccessful, we call a plumber and shovel out the big bucks to get it fixed. What if when we couldn’t fix it ourselves, we walked around and complained about having a leaky faucet, but refused to do anything about it? What if everyday we got out of bed and tried to fix the faucet over and over again in the exact same way that we had tried in the many days before? WE ALREADY KNOW THAT IT WON’T WORK, but somehow we expect a different result. That is not only foolish, it is insanity.

I think that the same principle applies to everything we do in life. EVERYTHING! If we are not getting the desired result in a particular situation, we need to change what we are doing. We can always do something different. I am not saying that we shouldn't be true to ourselves, or that we should be willing to do whatever it takes to get what we want. What I am saying is that if we desire a different outcome, we have to do something different. We may need to change our perception. We may need to change the way we speak to others, or how we hear when others speak to us. We may need admit that we don't know everything about everything and learn something new. Although it is really hard, we may have to accept and acknowledge that we may have been wrong, and our worldview may even need to change.

Life is hard, but God is good. I am so thankful that He gives us more chances than I can count to do something different to achieve a different result when a different result is needed. For today I am going to try to stop the insanity in my life, and I hope that you will join me. LET’S DO SOMETHING DIFFERENT AND STOP THE CRAZY INSANITY!