In today's world: The realities of change
Published Jun 4, 2022 12:23 am
IT'S THE SMALL THINGS
In a world that can be many different things – from kind to cruel; harsh to harmonious; nurturing, war-stricken, depressing, happy; pessimistic, but hopeful; the list goes on – there is one thing I am confident about. Cliché, but true, the only constant in this world is change. No matter how much we try to resist it, or stop it, no matter how slowly, things will always gradually evolve. After all, as citizens, we aspire for progress, no matter what age we are, or what stage of life we are in. To say that we have seen the world change in the last two years would be quite the understatement. But, if anything, we have proven to ourselves that as human beings, we are resilient, adaptable and flexible. Despite initial resistance, uncertainty, or shock even, if you will, we were somewhat forced to embrace the changes brought upon us. Some of our lifestyles were impacted more drastically than others, and some, welcomed the change more. But the bottom line is we survived. Some of us thrived, while others, took a while. But the fact that we are here today teaches us a valuable lesson: if only we applied this perspective to many more aspects in our lives, perhaps in the future, transition periods will go more smoothly.
People change. That is a given. And perhaps, this change can be attributed to as the root cause of many changes we encounter and go through in our lives. Our wants change, our priorities change; our needs, lifestyles, and goals in life most definitely go through change. So if we cannot battle change, what can we do then to make sure that as change constantly goes on around us, we contribute as positive agents?
First and foremost, we must be aware of reality, and adjust our perceptions of life. We must know at our very core what, and who it is in our lives that truly matter. We must know who and what are permanent, and account our sad lessons to the temporal aspects of this world which may once have mattered most, but that we must move on and forward from and acknowledge as learnings. The irony actually I find is what we as humans sometimes tend to value the most, or devote the most time towards, can sometimes be the most fleeting. Take for instance power and success. At some point in our lives, we all aspire for some semblance of either, if not both. We sacrifice a lot to attain either one, or both. But in the end, do we really attain fulfillment? Are we content? There is, a reason, after all why there is no direct correlation between happiness and richness. There is most definitely more to life than material blessings, wealth and abundance. Take for instance a great learning from the last two years: while it can definitely aid with treatment an alleviation, no amount of money can buy, or guarantee you good health – something we have most definitely learned to place so much more value upon. No amount of money can bring back a loved one.
And then there is this fear of failure. I myself am guilty of that – though proudly, much less now, than I was growing up. We all have goals – some more attainable, others seemingly insurmountable – and achieving these goals give us a sense of fulfillment because of the work we put into it. In the same light, not achieving them can also have a profound effect on us. It can make us feel inadequate. But have we ever stopped to remind ourselves that perhaps our most profound successes in life are built upon these failures? We set goals for a reason. We aspire because it means we cannot attain it overnight. And with those aspirations come disappointments and failures. I have learned that you must expect to fail at some point in search for your dreams. In fact, condition yourself to think that you will fail more than once. You will fail often in your journey to success. Each time it will undoubtedly hurt. Each time, you will despair, question, doubt and be taken aback. But what you must never forget is that each failure is actually a small step back, but a greater leap forward if you allow it to be. It is a chance to learn, to build upon your knowledge and to find new opportunities to go forth.
Before you are intimidated by the notion of change, or the idea of failure, remind yourself that you will never be given more than you can endure. That while life can be unfair, it can also be most gratifying when you make an effort to seek out silver linings, and you give it the chance to be. Remember to appreciate life’s true gifts, and place value on those. More on those next week.
In a world that can be many different things – from kind to cruel; harsh to harmonious; nurturing, war-stricken, depressing, happy; pessimistic, but hopeful; the list goes on – there is one thing I am confident about. Cliché, but true, the only constant in this world is change. No matter how much we try to resist it, or stop it, no matter how slowly, things will always gradually evolve. After all, as citizens, we aspire for progress, no matter what age we are, or what stage of life we are in. To say that we have seen the world change in the last two years would be quite the understatement. But, if anything, we have proven to ourselves that as human beings, we are resilient, adaptable and flexible. Despite initial resistance, uncertainty, or shock even, if you will, we were somewhat forced to embrace the changes brought upon us. Some of our lifestyles were impacted more drastically than others, and some, welcomed the change more. But the bottom line is we survived. Some of us thrived, while others, took a while. But the fact that we are here today teaches us a valuable lesson: if only we applied this perspective to many more aspects in our lives, perhaps in the future, transition periods will go more smoothly.
People change. That is a given. And perhaps, this change can be attributed to as the root cause of many changes we encounter and go through in our lives. Our wants change, our priorities change; our needs, lifestyles, and goals in life most definitely go through change. So if we cannot battle change, what can we do then to make sure that as change constantly goes on around us, we contribute as positive agents?
First and foremost, we must be aware of reality, and adjust our perceptions of life. We must know at our very core what, and who it is in our lives that truly matter. We must know who and what are permanent, and account our sad lessons to the temporal aspects of this world which may once have mattered most, but that we must move on and forward from and acknowledge as learnings. The irony actually I find is what we as humans sometimes tend to value the most, or devote the most time towards, can sometimes be the most fleeting. Take for instance power and success. At some point in our lives, we all aspire for some semblance of either, if not both. We sacrifice a lot to attain either one, or both. But in the end, do we really attain fulfillment? Are we content? There is, a reason, after all why there is no direct correlation between happiness and richness. There is most definitely more to life than material blessings, wealth and abundance. Take for instance a great learning from the last two years: while it can definitely aid with treatment an alleviation, no amount of money can buy, or guarantee you good health – something we have most definitely learned to place so much more value upon. No amount of money can bring back a loved one.
And then there is this fear of failure. I myself am guilty of that – though proudly, much less now, than I was growing up. We all have goals – some more attainable, others seemingly insurmountable – and achieving these goals give us a sense of fulfillment because of the work we put into it. In the same light, not achieving them can also have a profound effect on us. It can make us feel inadequate. But have we ever stopped to remind ourselves that perhaps our most profound successes in life are built upon these failures? We set goals for a reason. We aspire because it means we cannot attain it overnight. And with those aspirations come disappointments and failures. I have learned that you must expect to fail at some point in search for your dreams. In fact, condition yourself to think that you will fail more than once. You will fail often in your journey to success. Each time it will undoubtedly hurt. Each time, you will despair, question, doubt and be taken aback. But what you must never forget is that each failure is actually a small step back, but a greater leap forward if you allow it to be. It is a chance to learn, to build upon your knowledge and to find new opportunities to go forth.
Before you are intimidated by the notion of change, or the idea of failure, remind yourself that you will never be given more than you can endure. That while life can be unfair, it can also be most gratifying when you make an effort to seek out silver linings, and you give it the chance to be. Remember to appreciate life’s true gifts, and place value on those. More on those next week.