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Is Your Life One of Passive Diffusion or Active Transport?


I was a biology and history major in college so I took a ton of science classes both in undergrad and later in dental school. One of the basic principles of biology is based around how molecules move in and out of cells in our body. There are number of different ways this happens but the two I want to focus on are called “passive diffusion” and “active transport”.

Diffusion happens without any real effort. The basic principle is this: If there is more of one kind of molecule in one area and less in another, the molecules

will spread themselves out until there is an even balance. It happens without any energy being used up and really no energy is produced. It would be like pouring a glass of water into a large pan. The water doesn’t stay all in the middle of the pan. It spreads out evenly or diffuses until it is evenly distributed.

Active transport, on the other hand, take a little more work. This happens when a cell knows it needs a certain molecule and it puts a pump in place to pull that molecule into the cell. This requires energy and effort but usually results in the creation of more energy and greater health for the cell. An example of this could be drinking an energy drink. The liquid doesn’t flow through the can, into your hand, and down to your stomach. That would be diffusion. To get that drink and the energy it contains, you have to use some effort to suck it through a straw and then swallow it down to your stomach where it can be turned into an energy boost.

Why in the world am I talking biology on a blog about personal success?

The questions I would ask you are these:

  1. Do you live your life by passive diffusion or by active transport?

  2. Do you just take what comes to you or do you actively try to improve?

  3. Are you in your current profession because it is you love it or did you just take it when it came and have stayed with it?

  4. Do you look for ways to improve your character and life skills or are you content to just stay where you are?

  5. Do you consistently choose the hard right over the easy wrong?

  6. Passive diffusion or active transport?

I firmly believe that this life is about progress. If we aren’t moving forward we are getting left behind. This life is an incredible gift that we’ve been given and enormous opportunities are there for us to seize. But they won’t just come to us through diffusion. We have to actively go out and find them. And once we’ve found them we have to put in the effort necessary to benefit from them. If we don’t, we are wasting the greatest gift we will ever be given.

Challenge: Find at least one thing today that you can do to improve your life. Here are some ideas to get you started:

  1. Go for a jog

  2. Start a new book

  3. Read other posts on this blog 😉

  4. Free up time to give your children your full attention.

  5. Research more about that side business you have been dreaming of starting.

  6. Set goals for what you want to accomplish this week.

I have learned that the happiest times in my life came when I was actively working to improve myself. I know that you will have the same feeling as you break the paradigm of passive diffusion.

Now go out and Successify your life!

Kris

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