Max Depree, leadership author and consultant was asked, ‘what is the most difficult thing he had to work on. He replied, “It’s the interception of entropy.”

Entropy is a term from physics that has something to do with the second law of thermodynamics and the availability of energy.   It speaks to the fact that the universe is winding down.

As it relates to people, here’s a loose definition for ‘personal entropy’: everything that is left to itself has a tendency to deteriorate.  Entropy is a great enemy of the human spirit.

In fact, Depree has made a list of the signs that entropy is advancing:

superficiality

tension in key relationships,

no time for celebration and rituals

confusing heroes and celebrities

a loss of gratitude

a chronic sense of guilt

and a host of others….

The first step to overcoming personal entropy is to be aware that it’s happening, and then to take massive action against the trend in one’s life.

In Charles Duhigg’s best selling The Power of Habit, he says that humans have habits.  They  need better ones.  Organizations have habits, and they too, need better ones.  Our task, says Duhigg, is to identify the habits that we know are sabotaging our lives, and get rid of them.  And then identify the good habits we need and develop them.  Easier said than done but worth taking a shot at. Don’t you agree!!!