Courage to Change

Not many of us crave change. In fact, many of us will try to avoid it and some will even resist it. This is given that change is one of the only constants we have in life. Change affects every aspect of our lives: our relationships, our roles and careers, and our health, amongst other aspects.

We are born as tiny helpless infants and then we grow into active children and youth, then ambitious adults, and finally we grow old and become frail and weak yet again. This is just one example of the constant state of change in our lives. We change not only physically, but emotionally. One day we are happy, and the next may bring sadness, but then again, we know that trials and tribulations make us stronger and give us such important life lessons.

If change is a constant in our life, then I wonder why we always try to avoid it and resist it? Why don’t we instead embrace it and use it to improve our lives? Sometimes, it is when we step out of our comfort zone, or in some cases, are pushed out of our comfort zone, that we really grow. Does a caterpillar not have to go through a metamorphosis in order to become a butterfly and flutter across the sky
after being confined only to treading on the earth?

So my invitation to you would be to look into your life and see which situation may be making you uncomfortable, or at least challenging you and making you feel not as competent as you usually would like to be. Maybe it’s a new job you have taken up, a new role that you have been placed in, maybe it’s a new city you have moved to, or maybe it’s a new good habit that you’re trying to adopt. Perhaps you will find that in that struggle, you are growing, you are learning, and you are reaching new horizons that you would have otherwise never reached.

Stephen Covey defines habits as “the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire” (Seven habits of highly successful people, p. 47). In other words, knowledge is the ‘what’ and the ‘why’. Skill is the ‘how’, and desire is the ‘want’. In order to change a habit, all three have to work together. For example, if someone has the bad habit of procrastinating, they may know that they shouldn’t leave things until the last moment, and they may know how to do so by finishing their tasks in a timely manner, yet they may not want to do so for reasons that they may or may not be aware of. In some cases, it takes some courage to dig deep and find the real reasons for a bad habit, and yet again, it takes courage to overcome those reasons and drop the habit.

Stephen Covey defines habits as “the intersection of knowledge, skill, and desire” (Seven habits of highly successful people, p. 47). In other words, knowledge is the ‘what’ and the ‘why’. Skill is the ‘how’, and desire is the ‘want’. In order to change a habit, all three have to work together. For example, if someone has the bad habit of procrastinating, they may know that they shouldn’t leave things until the last moment, and they may know how to do so by finishing their tasks in a timely manner, yet they may not want to do so for reasons that they may or may not be aware of. In some cases, it takes some courage to dig deep and find the real reasons for a bad habit, and yet again, it takes courage to overcome those reasons and drop the habit.

They may be procrastinating because they have too much confidence in their abilities to accomplish a task and therefore underestimate the amount of time they need. Or on the other hand, they have too little confidence in their abilities and do not want to tackle the task until they really have to and are under pressure to do it. Or quite simply, the underlying reason could be laziness. In all cases, it takes courage to really identify one’s weakness and then again courage to decide that this habit will change. This is a simple example on an individual scale.

On the other end of the spectrum is having enough courage to take a stance that could affect your family, your school, your city, and even the world. In many cases, in order to improve or excel, we may find ourselves challenging the status quo and being met with resistance, doubts, and discouragement. Even those closest to us may fail to understand or support us. However; we know that any famous and prominent figure that we know today had their share of challenges. Gandhi was thrown out of the first class compartment on a train despite having a ticket, Rosa Parks was asked to sit at the back of the bus because of her colour, the Prophets who came with divine revelations were in many cases oppressed and some were even killed. Yet Gandhi’s non-violent and peaceful methods were instrumental for India’s independence, Rosa Parks was one of the pioneers of the liberation of African-Americans from racism and segregation, and the prophets came with messages that called to the highest levels of morality, justice and peace through belief in God.

These figures may have never imagined all of the obstacles and challenges they would encounter, yet they went against all the odds, because they knew what they had to do was important. What they may have not known once again is that their struggle changed the beliefs and actions of entire people, entire countries and ultimately had an influence on the entire world.

My invitation once again would be to examine your life and decide what changes can you make that will make you happier, more successful and more productive? What changes will allow you to fulfill your goals and aspirations?

Once you have identified those changes, ask God to help you and hold what is best for you, and simply, make it happen. You are the only one who can fulfill your dreams and experience the joy that comes from accomplishing your goals.