Make Change Your Ally

It doesn’t matter if you welcome it with open arms or hide from it under the bed. Like it or not, change happens. It happens all the time, all around us.

The drop in temperature at the end of the day is a change you feel when your skin suddenly prickles with goose-bumps. A ray of sunlight filtering in through your bedroom curtains, signaling the start of another day, is a change you see. These changes, you have no control over. You probably don’t even give them much thought past grabbing a sweater to stave off the evening chill and maybe pulling a blanket over your head if you’re not a morning person.

What, if you had the power to, would you like to change? Your job? Neighbors? Bank balance? The menu at the fast food joint around the corner?

Where do you want to be a year from today and what do you want your life to look like by then?

Let’s suppose you know what you want. Then the first step on the road to getting what you want out of life is embracing the idea of change. Progress can never occur without change.

The second step is making decisions and acting upon them. It's the decisions you take now that will determine whether you succeed in fulfilling your dreams for the future. What dictates the pace of change and success is the level of commitment and enthusiasm you can bring to your decision making today.

A boat travels faster over water when its heavy burden is lightened, so take a moment to ask yourself what, or who, you may need to let go of in order to move forward more easily. Identify your excess baggage and throw it overboard. Don’t cling to people or things that weigh you down.

My point here is change is the only constant in life. Accepting change as an ally and making tough decisions today is how you create a better tomorrow for yourself. If you don't like something, ask yourself what can be done to change it. And if you can't change it, change your attitude.

I’d like to leave you today with the two most important lessons I’ve learned so far…

My father taught me change is growth, and when you stop growing, you stop living.

And my mother taught me to wake up with a smile every morning, and make the most out of each day no matter what challenges you’re facing.