Picking Preferences

I think I've learned a lot about my personal preferences by being out of my element the past few years.  I guess the ability to choose a new way of doing things provides me the perfect platform for deciding what I prefer.

My question is: Do you have to find yourself in a new environment to feel compelled to change? People talk about how difficult it is to break habits, but I wonder if preferences are the same.  I'm thinking of preferences in daily life, like college students who redefine their image freshman year or professionals who relocate for greater growth opportunities.

For example, my church in Ohio encouraged hospitality by asking all members to change seats every week to accommodate guests and facilitate new relationships.  For nearly 20 years, not only did I sit in the same side of the church, but I sat in the same row and the same chair.  This little 'hospitable action' was asking a lot.  When I found a church in Seattle, however, it wasn't about my preference for the right side or second row, I went to a completely different place and even tried the balcony... that is... until I started to establish a favorite pew.  The past few weeks I've been making a new preference here!

Here are some others:

Sorry clothesline, I tried line-drying in Armenia and will always prefer the dryer.

Sorry elliptical machine, the treadmill wins my exercise time.

Sorry plastic bag, reusable is much more durable.

Sorry rainy weather, I thrive in a sunny environment.

But wait!  I could see these preferences changing with a change in my environment.  I could skip the dryer if I had a little breeze, I would use the elliptical if I had sore knees, I would grab plastic if I forgot my canvas bag and I could easily prefer rain if there weren't this unemployment lag. Sorry about the rhyme.  

So, my conclusion is that we change when we're forced out of our comfort zone.  We learn faster, work harder and live better when we're motivated by some kind of environmental change.

Am I right? 

Depression lesson from Grandma

Last week, I spent some quality time with my grandparents.  Before leaving for Seattle, my grandma gave me a newspaper clipping from the business section of the Toledo Blade.  Homer Brickey, the newspaper's senior business writer, wrote the article titled, "Polar Opposites in Great Depression's Effects".

Brickey compared his grandfathers' experiences during the Great Depression and I couldn't help but wonder how his grandfathers compared to how people are adapting to change today.  

After losing everything, one grandfather rejected all things modern, "He had his telephone and electricity disconnected.  He read by the light of a kerosene lamp.  He had no car, only an old engine that drove a belt to saw lumber and to grind sugar cane...by the end of his 84 years, he had become a virtual hermit."  

The other grandfather was quite different.  "He embraced change and was among the first in his region to buy a refrigerator, a washing machine, a television set.  He seldom missed a news broadcast and eagerly awaited his daily copy of the Cincinnati Post in the mail".  His attitude was: "Will wonders never cease?"  

I'll admit, when I got back from the Peace Corps I wanted to be the first grandfather in Brickey's story.  I wanted to come back and remember the good days before constant text messaging, Twitter updating and blog posting.  I liked the mail I received with hand-written letters and I wanted someone to call and talk to me every so often.  It worked in Armenia, why wouldn't I just stick to that lifestyle here?  

The reason, of course, is because I'm too young to work backward and there are far too many wonders that I can enjoy this very minute.  I can video chat with my family in real time, Skype friends across the globe and Tweet both personal and professional news instantly.  I'm eager to use the new tools of online communications to reach those I love and those I don't even know yet.  

Even though life's uncertain, I must agree that I enjoy the learning opportunity I have now.  

Will wonders never cease?