The lady cooking my breakfast doesn't understand that speed or time is one of the most critical factors for Westerners. I can get a better breakfast far quicker at the neighboring store. Why would I come back here? The desire for variety is often the only reason we even try a new place. But you get measured by previous experiences.
Every church you visit has a very specific measuring tape. You won't even know what that tape consist of until you have been there for a while. Trust me, they are taking your measure . . . just as you are taking theirs.
Every job has metrics, and always only some of them are stated. Your boss is the one who gets to interpret those metrics and while you may be exceeding all the stated evaluation points, you might not even rank on his/her understanding of those metrics. (I personally have had a number of uplines who use a variable measuring rod, and who interpreted the rules differently for each individual. Impossible to succeed in such a situation.)
But you have choices. If you are the business person trying to win my business or loyalty or return, you can query me to see how you did. While the breakfast lady prompted this blog today, I honestly DID keep an open mind until I saw the breakfast and realized that it took less than three minutes to prepare, and I waited almost 15. If you are the one searching for a new church or club group, you can stay, leave, or commit to change yourself or them or any combination of these options. If the job is the focus, you can stay, change, grow, submit or leave, and once again, there are a number of combinations of these options depending on the situation. But you do have options, let no one lead you to believe otherwise.
I took far too long in life to own up to this fact. I stayed in a job with a certain company far too long. And when circumstances finally forced me, forced me, to change and take the option that I could not contemplate previously, is when I was finally set free. The scale and scope of my accomplishments since making the change, far exceed my previous production, in a third of the time. Yes you are being measured by metrics you aren't even aware of, yet you have options and choices.
