We focus so much on end results sometimes that we can often forget about the means we employ. You might forget to find joy and fulfilment in how you go about engaging in the process. And, when this happens, the means themselves can become the very thing that stands in the way of sustainable change.
Sustainable change
Creating sustainable change is never easy. It requires letting go of the old, before you can embrace the new. Human beings have an inbuilt bias to cling to the familiar and as such we are faced with an innate resistance to change. How you relate to the means that you employ is then fundamental to how successfully you are able to effect change.
Not fully embracing the means is a good way of setting yourself up to not go very far. This is why the gym floor thins out by February despite the new year fitness rush. No matter how wonderful and important good health is, an arduous gym regime that is bordering torture is not going to get most of us there. Soon, the lack of fun drives us away.
Perhaps, the psychological pressure of engaging in something so unfulfilling is ultimately unhealthy in the long-run. And, perhaps this is at least partly why our bodies and minds reject such things.
Change is a path
Knowing what change you seek is the starting point. It is then about making the means themselves deeply fulfilling. Rather than viewing change as an end point to be reached after a difficult struggle, try immersing in the process wholeheartedly. For example, there is no point trying to become a good public speaker if you don’t see the fun in communicating clearly and passionately. If you don’t feel the joy of being able to share your message with more impact. No amount of public speaking courses will get you there, if a genuine enquiry into the art of communication is not present within you.
Change is really then about walking a path. And, it has to be a path that you connect with and feel enthusiastic about. A path that you walk everyday. If we become curious and enthusiastic about the means, often the results will take care of themselves.
Change happens bit-by-bit, day-by-day. Change is a path, not a destination.
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