Many people I meet are looking for a way to improve their lives – they want to be happier or more successful in some way. They usually expect this to happen in a single, momentous, life-changing event – or in a single dramatic therapeutic change.
While this is possible – and often achievable – it isn’t necessarily the best way to change anything. It’s a symptom of the ‘quick fix’ mentality embedded in our current culture and narrows the range of options most people will consider.
The quick fix is therefore a highly suspect urge – you only have to look at the sheer quantity of ‘get rich quick’ schemes on the internet and the rise in gambling to glimpse the downside. We expect that the promise of easy money is a lie, but hope that it is not. In this way, our hopes can be used to make us vulnerable to exploitation.
What might we do instead that is more authentic and lasting than the current fads would allow? Something simple and effective is needed.
Think about this:
Suppose the sky is blue – is that good or bad?
The answer most people give is “it depends”. What it usually depends on is you – your circumstances, your needs, your plans and your customary perspective. You have to do something on the inside which biases that decision.
The sky itself is always blue, even behind the clouds, just as the sun is always shining somewhere – even at night. Our perspectives – our conditioned mental reflexes – do the rest.
So do you let your current conditioning decide whether something is good or bad – or do you ask yourself a better question instead – like “Is this useful?”
If your current perspective is not useful, it may be wise to change it. In doing this, you have an opportunity to improve your life in a simple, meaningful way. This is likely to be a small change. However, if you keep this principle in mind throughout your day, the opportunities will multiply – as will the benefits. Small changes do add up quickly to create a bigger positive effect – this is one of the axioms of complexity theory.
This is the type of ‘resourceful change’ that is the foundation for my company – and for everything else I do.
And you can do it too, if it is useful for you.
Just remember that whether you take these opportunities or whether you let them pass you by, the sky will always be blue and it’s still waiting for you to make that first simple change for the better.
