Old vs. New. vs. Who cares?

"That's the way we always did it." I know a lot of people who would say that when asked why a new method isn't being used. I've nothing against tradition, but when something new is introduced, it shouldn't be dismissed simply because it's not the way someone's used to doing things.

"We're doing something new!" Change for the sake of change is not change. The boss who steps in and says people need to work different because he's in charge is going to face resistance. That boss will fail because he doesn't lead, he simply does the "Because I said" that never worked when people were children.

I've seen a lot of people do things differently or the same simply because of their nature. I'll admit, I'm guilty of that myself. When I play Skyrim, I may want to play a certain type of character, like a warrior, but end up reverting to my thief habits of sneaking. Oh sure, I may be using a greatsword to sneak attack, but I'm still sneaking. Then again, I generally play as a thief, so why am I try to play as a warrior?

Whether it's games, business, personal relations, or cooking, it's difficult to balance the new with the old. If you just try to change things just to change things, then what exactly is your goal? It's like you're abandoning what you were originally doing for something completely different.

Evolution is not just something debated in scientific and religious circles. It's gradual change. There are some things that are done the same way simply because something better hasn't succeeded yet. I've seen things that would, in theory, work better, but they were abruptly introduced and failed like throwing a fish out of water. The fish dies because it can't suddenly breath air.

Let's say you're watching Cake Boss and you decide you want to make a cake like he does, with all the detail and flavor. All the cakes you've done before were using cake mix, a tub of frosting, and some candles for a birthday cake. You will likely fail. Because you're incompetent? No, because you're trying to change everything at once. There are skills and knowledge you'll need. Calculating weight, ingredients, knowing your flavors, strength of materials, color coordination, artistry, sculpting, and more. Buddy Valastro does all that and has a business to manage to boot.

What that means is you'll have to start small, not give up. Learn how to decorate simply, such as watching this video on ehow.com. Start getting an eye for details, work your way up, learn how to use fondant, and so on until your skills evolve and you could actually end up working for Buddy. If you get good enough, maybe he'll work for you! But seriously, you start simple and evolve things, discarding what doesn't work and keeping what does.

Now, for the individual, it's easy enough. Going off the cake analogy, let's say you wow your family with an impressive cake for your parents' anniversary and now your cousin Terry is asking you to teach how to do what you did. You know from experience that it'll take time. Terry wants to learn "now". Truth be told, Terry doesn't want to learn, Terry just wants to make a cake like you did. Change for the sake of change. It's not worth your time to attempt as there could be others who want to actually learn the process. That's a key part of evolution too, who will adapt and who won't.

I guess I'm kind of burned out on everyone who wants to be impressive and everyone who just wants to be left alone to do whatever. It's difficult to get people to find the balance that makes learning something different possible. Gradual steps may not seem efficient on paper, but it's better than trying to force everything at once and having people do things differently because you refused to allow them to adapt.

You know, next time I play a thief in Skyrim, I'm going to try for a no-murder playthrough. No people will be killed, but lots of pickpocketing. Have fun!