Tolerating a Broken System

Three times. That’s how many times I’ve broken my commitment to send out the Good Leaven Letter by Monday during the last 80 weeks or so. Perhaps not bad as an average, but considering that I’m also committed to giving a random reader $100 every time this happens, there’s definitely a cost to this system not working— currently $3.75 per letter to be exact. There’s also the cost of not keeping my word to my readers. 

I have two options: either tolerate my current system and pay the costs or use the broken commitment to upgrade it. When I’ve failed to send out the letter by Monday, it’s typically been because I forget about the letter due to an irregular schedule, for example when I’m on vacation. Writing these letters well in advance will lead to a more peaceful process for both myself and my lovely wife, who designs and edits the drafts. 

So here’s my new commitment: By May 1st, I will get ahead with five letters edited, designed, and scheduled to be sent. This cushion of five articles will mean that even if I forget one week, there will still be letters scheduled to be sent out for the next four weeks. On average, I will also write one letter a week to restock the collection. And I’m still on the hook to give a random reader $100 if this new system ever fails. 

This week, I invite you to ask: 

Where in my life am I tolerating a broken system, hoping for different results without changing anything? What do I need to change in order to create different results? 

God bless,
Dan