A Somewhat Preachy Post on Change

“You must constantly ask yourself these questions: Who am I around? What are they doing to me? What have they got me reading? What have they got me saying? Where do they have me going? What do they have me thinking? And most important, what do they have me becoming? Then ask yourself the big question: Is that okay? Your life does not get better by chance, it gets better by change.” ~Jim Rohn

Over the past year or so, I have been consciously watching people (including myself) move through situations and come out the other side completely different. The recurring themes are "how did I end up there?" or "how did I put up with that for so long?" or "how come I couldn't see what was on the other side?" Oftentimes, all of that is coupled with a massive fear of failure. If you can't make it work, no matter how hard you try, it's logical to feel like a failure... but I can tell you, since I have been there, the real failure is not making a change.

“Forget about the consequences of failure. Failure is only a temporary change in direction to set you straight for your next success.”

When you're in the midst of something (and oftentimes you don't even realize it's a "something"), being somewhere different - albeit physically and/or mentally -seems nearly impossible. But nothing ever stays the same. Everything changes. Good or bad, it changes.

When we don't change, we cope. I heard this quote at a lecture, and I won't ever forget it. "No one wants to be remembered as the World's Greatest Coper." It made me laugh at the time... I mean, how often do we pride ourselves on how well we cope? Look at me, I'm coping with this! I might not be changing, but at least I am coping! Inspiring, huh? Yeah... not so much.

We all know this at some level, but we forget. At least I do. Today was a tiny, but funny example of my "coping." I have gone over a year without a functional can opener. Today I bought one, and tonight it took me merely a second to open a can which previously would have taken me 5 minutes. I had to laugh at myself for "coping" with a non-working can opener for 12 months. Today I made a change, and I'm so much better for it. It was a small reminder of the big picture in which we live our lives.

So, tonight, I wish all of us the changes we need and want in our lives. Lessen the "coping" - more with being happy!

“The person who risks nothing, does nothing, has nothing, is nothing, and becomes nothing. He may avoid suffering and sorrow, but he simply cannot learn and feel and change and grow and love and live.” ~Leo Buscaglia