[Jaine Perotti]

Originally Posted by Rich Kressly

The portal does not need to be jammed up with threads and posts bemoaning the changes. Honestly, I'm numb to reading one more "Why did FIRST change xyz... Don't they know 123..." thread. I'd much rather read a "Hey rule abc changed this year ... how are we overcoming that obstacle..." thread.

I would like to build on what Rich has said here.

Change is an inevitable part of life. Most people do not like change and have difficulty accepting differences in what was once familiar. This is human nature.
However, as FIRSTers, and as members of society, we must rise above this aspect of our nature. We must strive to fully understand change - before we reject it in an attempt to preserve what was once familiar or expected.

progress
n.

1. Movement, as toward a goal; advance.
2. Development or growth: students who show progress.
3. Steady improvement, as of a society or civilization: a believer in human progress.

The definition of the word “progress” can mean many things within different contexts. But in all cases, the word “progress” means to build upon what we know and do in order to improve. Letting go of the past can be a very hard thing, but we must let go - and accept change in order to improve our lives, as well as improving FIRST.

Throughout history, most innovations of viewpoint have not been popular. The first time someone ever said, “Hey, why not put a man on the moon?” … do you think that most people ever envisioned that this would ever be possible? Most likely, someone thought that this was crazy, and replied, “No way! That’s impossible!”

The word “no” has probably been one of the most destructive words in the history of human civilization. The minute someone says “no” to a new idea, a realm of new possibilities has been suppressed. What would have happened if someone had said “no” to the idea of the telephone, and it never came to exist? What if someone had said “no” to the idea of the airplane, or the space shuttle, or the computer, and the people who came up with these ideas said, “Hey, you are right, it would be impossible.”?

Those who say “no” refuse to let go of what the past has told them about what is possible and impossible, what is beneficial or not beneficial, and what is ultimately good or bad. They prejudge based on what the conventions of their society, and their own mind, have pronounced as acceptable.

We, as FIRSTers, especially need to avoid getting stuck in our ways. After all, don’t we represent the future? Do we represent progress itself? FIRST, as an organization, represents the need to improve our society, by initiating change in the minds of the people of this world. Change – to inspire more young people to strive for creativity, instead of rejecting it. Change – for society to recognize the importance of science and technology (and ultimately innovation) in this world.

We need to face changes within FIRST graciously. We celebrate the ideals of gracious professionalism, yet we often have difficulty applying this philosophy to the most important aspects of our lives. Gracious professionalism does not just mean that teams are expected to be benevolent to one another. Gracious professionalism means that we should accept change as a new challenge, rather than fighting it, and find an innovative way to overcome it or even use it to our benefit - just as we do when we solve the problems of the game challenge.

Forethought means thinking ahead. Think ahead before you judge something new. Think ahead before you dismiss something as “crazy” or “impossible” or “bad”.
As my signature says, "If you always do what you've always done, you'll always get what you always got."

Take Rich Kressly’s message to heart.

-- Jaine

P.S. This thread started by Ken Leung also ties into this. So does this post made by me, concerning progress.