I discovered how brilliant change is later than a lot of people do, and I seriously wonder why it took me so long.
These days I absolutely love change and the growth that goes along with it.
And this makes sense, because every living organism is designed to grow. As soon as we are born our bodies start growing and changing and we continue to grow, change and evolve until we die.
Please note, this article is in my blog’s small business category because business and personal growth go hand in hand, with each affecting the other. And I’ve uploaded it here because as a human being, I want to share what I find useful with other human beings.
Nothing in nature stays the same. Even water is not designed to sit still, and becomes stagnant if it sits in the same rock pool for too long. The weather and the seasons constantly change, which is a great thing if you’ve lived through the icey conditions we’ve experienced in WA lately.
But even if you only look at change in relation to human beings, change is constant. Other human beings around us are always changing and growing too, regardless of anything we do or don’t do.
The important thing is that we make sure we are getting what we want for our own lives, and that we keep making changes to achieve what matters to our own unique souls.
Personally, I’m one of those people who likes to avoid what needs to be done until things get as horrendously shitful as they possibly can. It got to the point where my life really did depend on me finally making changes. I couldn’t continue with a fixed, miserable and dull life, otherwise I’d end up dying with things only getting worse, not better. And I couldn’t stand for that to be the legacy of my time on earth.
So I finally took action.
And yes, I did have to grit my teeth sometimes to get through some of the more major changes, but making changes both large and small boosted my sense of control over my life and my confidence.
I gained a sense of pride from the changes I made, which has been the greatest reward. Because if I die today, I can take that with me.
I also directly experienced the meaning in Mahatma Gandhi’s fabulous quote “Be the change that you wish to see in the world.”
Let me be crystal clear here, I most certainly didn’t become a good example of anything when I started making changes, jesus!
Making changes simply enabled me to see how the world is to some extent a reflection of myself. By making changes in my life I got rid of resentment and other negative emotions that had made me feel stressed, old and tired. I freed myself of the weight of such negative emotions and behaviours and as a result my world was calmer and happier in every respect. We have considerably more control over our lives and the world around us than we realise.
Making changes in my life has also made me more me. This is simply because the changes I’ve made have been a reflection of what I value, who I am, and how I want to spend my time. As my beautiful friend Louise says, it takes a while to come out of your shell. We all have to find that beautiful glittery person with the huge heart that has been tucked up in that plain brown shell.
Change Has Only Been Possible Because My Core Has Stayed the Same
I’ll be honest here, I like structure and continuity in my life as much as anyone, but it’s possible to love structure and continuity as well as change and growth at the same time. I’ve actually only been able to make significant changes in my life because my amazing network of family and friends has not changed and has never wavered. And just when I didn’t think it was possible for them to be any more beautiful, they’ve become more so.
As my awesome friend Peta says, our precious networks are always there regardless of what happens in our lives.
I’ve got Plenty More to Change Yet
I’ve got a plenty of human limitations and I have many changes still to make as I grow and work to achieve my goals. This doesn’t bother me, because change and getting to where you want to be always go hand in hand. I actually stumbled across this Mark Batterson quote the other night which I think sums it up perfectly:
“If you want God to do something new in you, you cannot keep doing the same old thing. You have to do something different. And if you do, God will create new capacities within you. There will be new gifts and new revelations. But you’ve got to pray the price. You’ll get out of this what you put into it.”
In Conclusion: There are Actually No Real Barriers to Growth
I think there are two major things that hold us back from making changes. The first is the fear that we’ll mess things up. That ridiculous belief that somehow we’ll dissolve into a puddle instead of actually having the capacity to do something. Fear is such an irrational waste of time, and the only way to handle it is to push through it and do what you want to do anyway. I’m lucky because I’ve lived long enough to know that everything I’ve been scared of so far actually didn’t turn out to be hard or scary at all.
The other thought that holds us back from change and growth is a concern that we’ll fail at whatever it is we want to achieve. Indulging in this thought is also an irrational waste of time, because actually we are all pretty much guaranteed to make mistakes and to screw up sometimes. That doesn’t mean that we won’t achieve our goals, it just means that we might need to adjust how we’re doing things as we keep taking steps toward them.
One of my amazing sisters gave me the book, Maybe: A Story About the Endless Potential in All of Us by Kobi Yamada and it’s one of the most beautiful books I’ve ever read. It’s actually a kid’s book, but the wisdom in it applies to adults and kids alike. In the book Kobi Yamada states, “At times it will feel really hard. And you might make a mess of things. You may fall down. You may fail. But you will also get back up, and you will rise a little stronger and a little taller.”
I love this part of the book because at this point in my life I’ve made so many mistakes that now they really are water off a duck’s back. Every honest person I know says the same thing about having made tonnes of mistakes, because mistakes are part of being human.
But I love Kobi’s point about how we rise stronger and taller when we get back up, because I’ve directly experienced this. And I think it makes sense, because if you get up off your arse and make an effort to achieve something, the universe will give you something in return. Sometimes this will be a message to say that you need to change your approach in order to achieve what you want, but the universe is generous and it will also give you some extra fortification at the same time to help you keep going.
*And, if you’re at the point where you need marketing copy to grow your business, fill in my contact form anytime or give me a call on 0439 923 976.
© Annemaree Jensen