by David Wine, President & CEO
All change begins with the mind and all acceptance of change begins with the mind. Everything we do and become is first of the mind. Too often we confuse our mind change with external change.
For example, we want to begin to eat more healthy. So we shop for healthy foods, we plan our meals, we read cookbooks on healthy eating, etc. But unless we change our minds and really WANT to and FOCUS on eating more healthy, our change will be short-lived because we have done nothing to change our mind. Or we decide we are going to enjoy our work more. Business books will tell you to organize your files; clean your desk; put up pictures you love; listen to music; etc. Those are enablers for context. But unless we decide in our minds we WANT to enjoy our work, none of those externals will create enjoyment for us. Or, we decide we are going to love our neighbors more who have that barking dog. So we send them a note of best wishes; we say “hi” to them in their yard; etc. But unless we change our minds and WANT to love and let go of our issues with them, none of our external doing will work. Far too many “self-help” books and articles speak of external changes to make for internal happiness. It is the other way around.
That is why we spend so much time at MAX talking about mindfulness. Change, and the acceptance of change, is in our minds, not in externals. As humans we usually try to fill our needs with those externals. We spend all kinds of time taking care of our bodies; shopping for things to make us happy; looking for ways to empower ourselves; and so on. What we spend little time on is our mind focus and attention which is where our real power lies. It is the key to changing our lives. Our greatest power lies in our minds, not in externals.
So at MAX, where we value wholeness, mindfulness becomes an important habit to cultivate, wherein we learn the point of power in our lives as individuals and organizationally.
David Wine
David is the President and CEO of the MAX enterprise, having served in that capacity since its formation in 2001. He has forty plus years of leadership experience in the business and faith-based worlds, being an ordained minister, having been elected to the highest position in his denomination, and receiving numerous awards and recognition for his leadership in the insurance industry. He currently serves on numerous boards in the church and insurance sectors. His hobbies include hiking, biking, skiing and snowshoeing as well as being an avid reader. David and his wife, Sharon, have three daughters, a son, and four grandchildren.