Change is up to You!

A thousand times you've wished things were different. I know. But I also know that even with the best intentions, wishing won't change anything. "Nothing will change until you change." That's the long and short of it. There was a time when I thought there was very little that I could do to change my circumstances....after all, I have no control over the seasons or the wind so the best I could do was curse at them. But then I learnt to read the seasons and how to turn the sails in the wind. I learnt that there are very few things in life that are pre-ordained; very few things over which we have no control. Everything else is a matter of choice, and I get to make that choice. I have the power. It was simply a matter of owning that - taking personal responsibility for creating change in my life.

But I've also learnt that it's easier said than done. I've learnt that the discipline required to create that change does not come by osmosis. I've learnt that desire (no matter how strong) is not enough to fuel that change. I've come to realize that motivation and inspiration die without constant attention. And, probably most importantly, the years have taught me that if your vision of the future is not big enough and compelling enough to provide the fire for today's engagement, change will always remain an elusive dream. Without a doubt, we must believe in the possibility, even likelihood of change. But patience must indeed be our first work, our quiet study, for without it very little can be achieved.

The truth is, there are too few of us who have accepted the mantle of personal responsibility for bringing about change in our own lives. Blaming the government, the school system, our employers become a convenient excuses. Being able to point that finger somehow absolves of us the responsibility, but more importantly it robs us of the opportunity to become the kind of person necessary to create a more meaningful existence....to become better, wiser, stronger. The people who have been successful at rising above their paltry existence are those who accept the challenge to get up off their laurels and meet life head on...despite the difficulties; those who have challenged themselves to grow; those who have been deliberate in choosing the philosophies on which to build their lives and have allowed those philosophies to fuel a positive attitude; those who have  set themselves goals and taken decided, deliberate action towards their achievement. Those are they who have evidenced change, seen the results and now live exceptional lives.

"If it's going to be, it's up to me," is as good a mantra to hold to now as any. Only you have the power to create the change that you want to see. And that change will never happen until you change.....your philosophies, your attitude, your activities (or lack thereof). We all have to own change. It's not up to the government, our parents, our children or our bosses. It's that next book you read. It's that next class you take. It's that fight you refrain from picking, it's your ego released into oblivion. It's recognizing that you have the power....and that claiming that power and experiencing the resulting change is entirely up to you.