Stop Fighting It – Change
July 11th, 2009 by Andy“The only constant thing in life is change”
I have no idea where this quote came from, but I have read, and heard this many, many times over the past few months. Whomever originally said this definitely had a point and is a complete genius in my mind. From the time we are born, our lives are filled with change. Change is not a choice, but a mere fact of nature that happens constantly all around us no matter what we do. We grow older, learn, teach, have fun and with each second that passes we change.
So if change is not a choice, how can we ever become who we want to be? The other day, I found myself asking this very question. As I stood relaxing in the warm sun, I stared down at my feet and took a step forward and then a step back. I watched as my foot glided through space and time changing with each millisecond that passed. The position of my foot changed by choice. So you see, even though we are always changing, we can choose to influence the change in the ways we want. So what is the key to making the changes we want?
At first this may really sound silly, but if you take time to think about it, it really makes sense. The key to making real live-moving changes is to stop doing things the way you have always done them. If for instance you want to make more money you may find yourself saying “Well, the things I’ve do have gotten me this far, I don’t see why they won’t work to get me farther.” In that statement, you would be precisely correct. The things you have done have gotten you to exactly where you are today. If you continue to do things exactly the same, very little will change.
One of my goals, as many of you know, has been to become a more social person. Over the past few years, I have worked very hard at this, and made some change – some progress. Looking back though, the change has been very small. Sure there have been huge changes, but in the overall context of my goal, they have had minimal effect. So I’ve been re-evaluating myself, my habits, and my life attempting to determine how I can achieve the change that I want for myself. With my introspection, I came to the conclusion that I need to actually take steps toward this change.
So here is what I’ve laid out for myself. First of all, I am going to change my style quite a bit. Gone are the days of tee-shirts and jeans. It is about time that I start dressing like the professional, successful person that I am. I am also going to put more energy into paying attention to things that are important to me. In the past I have been horrible at not paying attention to the details – a habit that I now regret. What I have learned is that making the change means being the change.
You will never be something that your aren’t so in order to be the person that you want to be, you have to be that person. You need to become yourself, be yourself, and be the you that you want to be. It’s that simple, but still one of the hardest things to actually do.
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July 11th, 2009 at 7:46 pm
Well said! Thank you for the reminder as well. It’s very easy to get lazy and settle for what is already there instead of being the change you want.
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July 14th, 2009 at 4:49 pm
You have put a lovely and insightful personal context to Mahatma Ghandi’s “Become the change you want to see”.
I often think of that in the global context, it is important to remember that the personal is just as profound.
July 14th, 2009 at 5:48 pm
I never knew that Ghandi had said that. I’ve read similar statements in many places and never knew where the idea had originated.