The Definition of Insanity has Changed
Why the same effort no longer yields the same results—and what does
A colloquial definition of insanity has long been "doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results." In today's precipitously evolving world, however, one might better describe insanity as "doing the same thing over and over and expecting the same results." Under drastically altered conditions, it is neither reasonable nor rational to expect our thoughts, words, and actions to yield what they have in the past. How could they?
This may sound unsettling. But uncertainty is the catalyst of possibility. Certainty delivers exactly one outcome. Yes, it eliminates risk, but it also eliminates opportunity: the ability to realize something greater. It's the irony of change: the same condition that unsettles us is the one that opens the door that allows us to move forward.
To be clear, none of this means the forces behind our expectations and intentions have weakened. Habit, expectancy, and the stories that shaped them resist change. It just means our effort can be, at best, futile—and at worst, leave us with results we didn't expect, in a place we didn't intend to be.
We Live Within a Script.
Our lives—at least how we envision them, and how we move through the world—are the product of stories. It is these narratives that tell us how the world works, and shape what we expect from it. This is the paradox of life. Most of us like to think of ourselves as the independent authors of our life's narrative, but we live within a script. And the truth is that we conform far more than we control. This is not a flaw. Shared story is at the heart of all humankind has ever accomplished, and yes, it is responsible for both the wonderful and the tragic.
The stories I'm referring to are the ones we're born into, the ones we grow up with, the ones that teach us the rules. The narratives reinforced in school, in culture, and increasingly by social media and its algorithms.
During stable and predictable times, these stories tend to work relatively well for most people. More than that, they're reassuring. But these are not stable and predictable times, and so our expectations increasingly fall out of alignment with reality.
Digital Generations.
It is a common refrain to say: the world has changed. We may even take the time to reflect on all the change and disruption we've experienced in our lifetime. For example, I'm typing this on a laptop, not on the typewriter of my college days. But how often do we reflect on the impact these changes have had on us, on how we experience our days and the results we achieve? The typewriter example may seem like a stretch, but consider that a 15-year-old entering high school today will never know high school without AI, while someone just seven years older never knew it with AI. We used to speak of "generational" change; now change comes fast enough to be measured in "digital" generations separated by only a few years.
My point is this: if you're approaching your days the same way you did a few years ago, and expecting the same results, frustration and disappointment are the likely outcome.
An Intertidal Moment.
We are living in a time I frame as an Intertidal Moment: a period in which older, pre-digital attitudes and methods coexist with rapidly evolving digital systems. The term intertidal describes the stretch of shoreline exposed at low tide and submerged at high tide—a dynamic, unstable environment where wave action continually reshapes the terrain, often abruptly and unpredictably. If you've ever stood on a beach and felt the sand pulled from beneath your feet as a wave recedes, you already understand the sense of disorientation such conditions can create.
It is impossible to remain motionless in an intertidal zone. Likewise, it is impossible to expect a consistent return on legacy effort in a world of constant motion. Some may try to hold on to the moorings of the past, the familiar stories and comfortable habits, but this approach only gathers the barnacles of obsolescence.
Our environment is in motion, which means we are too. An Intertidal Moment, like standing at the ocean's edge, demands awareness: curiosity, resilience, and a readiness to meet the next wave without assuming it will look or feel like the waves before. We cannot still the water. But we can learn to leverage the potential in the currents and harness the power and possibility they deliver. That readiness has a stance—a Seeker's Mindset: confident in shifting water, navigating by values and purposeful intent, while watching for the next wave rather than mourning the last.
