THE TAO OF CHANGE

"Trying to change is like trying to lift yourself from the ground by pulling your hair.
Trying to stop changing, is like trying to stop a running elephant with your bare hands”

                                                               -  Anagami

Today we are not going to talk about change in a metaphysical way, but rather in the more mundane sense of personal change.

We all want to be a better person, a better family member, a better professional or better in whatever aspect of our life we feel we are lacking.

We all know that in order to accomplish that we have to change and if you are reading this blog, you probably have already tried many times to change yourself, to upgrade your persona to a better you. Whatever the results of your attempts were, one thing for sure is that the process of changing is never easy and sometimes even it seems impossible. If that wasn’t the case the world will be full with happy, accomplished people.

So why so many people have a hard time changing? Why is changing so hard to accomplish?

The answer is much simpler than you think. To substantiate that let’s do a little mental exercise.

Imagine you are in a boxing match and the opponent is yourself. Actually, you don’t even have to imagine it, just find a large mirror in the house and try to punch your reflection in the face.

It is impossible. No matter how fast you move the image in the mirror will always keep up with you and block your punches. The only way to win against an opponent is to be better, faster and more powerful than he is, and in our case, it is impossible to be better, faster and more powerful than yourself.

It is impossible to change yourself because the changer and the chagee are one and the same, the cause and effect are one and the same.

You have to understand that when you try to change yourself, you are putting yourself in the position of a dog chasing its tail.

We have tried many, many times to change and we have failed continuously.

The logical conclusion of our failures would be that we cannot change. It sounds very logical but yet we keep persisting in our attempts to change.

The result is putting ourselves in a state of anguish and mental constipation where we feel trapped, walled in, chained, sabotaged, blocked, and cursed to eternal failure, with no hope of ever becoming the person we dream of.

On the other hand; everything in the world is changing, including us.

I use to have a full head of hair. Now my hair has migrated to the South Pole where the sun rarely shines. Why? I never asked for that change. I actually fought for every follicle of my manly mane just to see it all gone… you know the story, getting old.

Everything changes. The economy changes, the climate, the technology changes, people around us and inevitably we change. Change cannot be stopped.

So what is a guy or girl to do? How do we change? How do we stop from changing?

The answer is not that complicated but first, you have to understand the concept of “agents of change” and how they work.

For example, you are reading this blog post. Like it or not, by the time you finish reading it something has changed inside you. You have been given new information, new points of view. Your understanding of change has changed, so you have changed.

Same thing happens every day, when you watch the news, when you talk to your friends or family or when you go online. Unknown to you, you are being changed and many times not for your own good, I may add.

TV, the press, radio, and the internet are notorious for controlling and manipulating the masses – that means you. Yes, I know you already know that but you still are paying the satellite or cable company to brainwash you, because they have convinced you, you cannot live without them.

The problem is that when you give them the power to change you, you lose the power to change yourself.

Who is in charge of the changes in your life, you or them? Turn them off! I’m not kidding.

The secret of change is knowing and understanding the agents of change at work in your life.

Like I said, cut off the cable and the dish, get read of negative people and things that keep on limiting you and instead look and cultivate the people and things that will propel you on your path of change.

Ask yourself; what and how do you want to change your life? Then find the agents that will facilitate that change and you will find the secret to an effortless change and the path to a better you!

Namaste