BE THE CHANGE
Every election cycle we hear candidates talk about "change."
And yet, while it can be exciting to talk and think about positive societal and political changes, we must remember that the most powerful form of change is the kind of change that happens within us.
When we change, we help the world change.
When Gandhi said, "Be the change you wish to see in the world," he was talking about changing the world from the inside out. It starts with us. This is how real change happens.
For instance, a number of years ago when my wife almost left me because of my negativity and controlling ways. It caused me to look at my life and realize I needed to change. (If you read The Energy Bus, the main character George is actually based on me). As a result I started to research the positive effects of being positive and the negative effects of being negative. This caused me to make physical, emotional and spiritual changes in my life and ultimately led to the work that I do now with business, schools and organizations. In the process I also became a better husband, father, and person - and still striving to improve every day.
The fact is, when we create positive change in our own lives we generate positive change in the lives of others which causes a ripple effect that affects our family, our community our work place and our organizations.
The problem, however, is that so many of us are scared of change. We allow fear to hold us back, keep us in a rut and stay in the status quo. Only when a crisis hits do we contemplate making changes, and in many cases, even this doesn’t cause us to change.
We must remember that change is a part of nature and it’s woven into every living thing. Something is either changing and growing or it’s dying. And so we have a choice to change and grow or stay stagnant and die.
We don’t have to wait for a crisis to make a change. We can change our diet before we receive news that we have health problems. We can improve our relationship with our spouse before we receive the ultimatum. We can make innovation and positive change a part of our culture and processes at work before our competition gains too much market share. We can be the change that we wish to see at work and in our homes.
Change is wonderful and exciting and it begins with us.
Be the Change.
-Jon
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