Each day, week and month, I look for something new to experience. I’ve explored careers, friends, sports, travel, waist sizes, fashion, foods and friends. I’ve also read, followed and studied a number of philosophers over the last 5 years and I’m always intrigued by their ability to contemplate life and all of its components (work, friends, family, strangers, stress, joy, peace, etc.). Rand, Coehlo, Tolle, Socrates, Parthasarathy and Einstein are examples of people who I’ve read or studied who have used thought and change as a “freeing” principle in their lives. Of those listed, Socrates has become someone I pay close attention to and although he didn’t write often (most of his work has been “handed down”), everything you read about him points in the same direction. His quotes and belief systems have been interpreted to focus on the repeated act of inspiring people to “think” independently, which is why I continue to quote him on my posts.
I came across another quote of his, which connects me to my next life experience. “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new.” Have you ever focused all of your energy on something? I, for one, have not. The concept seems a bit challenging, but I love the power of the idea. I wonder how many of us have sat around a camp fire, sat on a deck, sat on a boat or maybe while on a walk and thought about making a “change” in some aspect of our lives. It could be as simple as… it’s time to rearrange furniture in the living room or it could be as scary and complex as…it’s time to stop drinking, either way- change is something that sparks thought, so I love it.
Most of us have experienced that desire for change, but why does change become a challenge to bring to life? I know lots of people, myself included, who have let those little bits of fear linger in their heads and when time for change is contemplated, they just trudge on and continue doing the same old things and the opportunity to change passes by. Amazingly powerful, isn’t it? Just a wee bit of fear can make that change feel too dramatic to conquer, but yet we seek change all the time, don’t we? Speaking of change…I’ve had an interesting 5 years. I love the people I work with, I’m spending time with my family, I have everything I need and more and I feel more at peace with almost every aspect of my life, which is fantastic. Please note the key word in that last sentence… “almost”, as it is time for me to change one more thing in life.
For the last two months I’ve been focused on another set of changes, and over the weeks and months that follow I’ll be testing that theory of fear and its ability to derail change. Maybe you’ll notice it, maybe you won’t, but I can promise you that it will be another experience that I hope will arm me with great stories that can be shared with my kids and family (and for that matter, anyone else who has an interest in listening).
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy, not on fighting the old, but on building the new” – Socrates