Change is a topic that comes to my mind often, probably because we are always experiencing its effects.  We are not the same today as we were yesterday, and tomorrow we will be different still. That is the way of life.  Often we move through our experiences seeing no difference whatsoever, but when you look back over the last ten years, we have, of course, experienced changes that are deep and wide from where we were.  There have been lessons learned, positive and negative. Beliefs have been built, destroyed, and built back up again.  Life is a consistent cycle of change from one thing to another. From this situation to that. Driven by a combination of our choices and the inevitable framework of nature.  The best we can do is have a talent for accepting the changes we can’t control and making good decisions about the ones we can choose.

No Choice Changes

There are many circumstances in life we have no choice about.  Who our parents are is not a choice, and we are born into the mercy of the adults in our lives. Suppose they provide a safe, caring environment or not is out of our control.  Were we nurtured and cared for or abandoned and neglected? Either way, at some point, we have to take responsibility for ourselves and decide what type of person we want to be. That is a choice that is ours individually.

Natural disasters occur, crime happens, loved ones pass away,  accidents of all sorts, and all are happening out of our control. Change is happening all the time.  We do not choose these things, but they bring change to our lives nonetheless.  The choice is always in how you deal with these changes.  Most people are faced with several watershed moments in their lives when life will never be the same again. What do you do in those moments? That is what will define you and your contribution to the world. You know them because you define your life as a time before this or after that.  We all are faced with unsought tragedy and challenges. How we choose to deal with it will be the factor that defines us.

Choice Changes

Then there are the changes we do participate in choosing.  Seeing something in yourself and wanting to improve it are common examples of this. To quit a bad habit, or to start participating in a good one.  All are choices.  We have quite a lot of control over our experiences in life through our choices in action and attitude. Most things can be fun, entertaining, and enlightening if you choose an attitude of enjoyment.  You always have the choice of being negative and wishing you were somewhere else. This will succeed in making you and all around you miserable, but that is a choice you can make.

When setting and achieving goals, change is what we are after. What do you want to accomplish? What are you willing to give to get it? What actions can you take? What resources can you take advantage of?  All of these choices will determine how quickly and efficiently you see the changes you are after. But more importantly, your attitude about achieving the goal will dictate the enjoyment you glean from the process and certainly how much you enjoy it.  The journey is a major part of the ride, and the steps along the path to the destination will provide stories and memories in the future. Choose to enjoy these slow changes on the way as a part of the process rather than treat them as something you must get through.

Change Your Level of Happiness

If you look at your current life experience and you are not happy with everything about it. Look for ways to inflict enjoyment into your life in all that you do. Change is constant and natural. We are going to change one way or another. Some we do not control, but many we do, and our attitudes toward this change determine the quality of our lives.  Take time to enjoy the changes that are happening, rather than fight against them, flow with them. k

As I stated in the beginning, change will be a part of our life experience from the beginning to the end, and we will move through a process. Experiencing good things and difficult things.  Never despair because of where you are or celebrate too much either. The unstoppable forces of change are working, and things will develop into something else wanted or unwanted soon enough.  Learn to embrace change. If we did not change, then growth would never occur, and what is not growing is going the other way.

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” -Gandhi

“Your life does not get better by chance. It gets better by change.” —Jim Rohn

“When in doubt, choose change.” —Lily Leung

“All changes, even the most longed for, have their melancholy, for what we leave behind us is a part of ourselves; we must die to one life before we can enter into another.” —Anatole France