CHANGING

I find myself at a point in my life when I am hungry for something new; hungry for something bigger. As this hunger grows and starts to consume me from within, I find myself getting confused, agitated and frustrated. This frustration could be as a result of “where do I start?”, “how to do this?” “What will come of this?”

It is no longer enough to approach life hoping that things will work out as you’ve imagined them. It is no longer enough to sit around, waiting for opportunities to come find you. It is neither the time, nor the place to be passive- this year calls for drastic change.

But what is change? How do you accomplish this ‘change’ people talk about?

This has been a question that has weighed heavily on my mind for the 2 weeks of 2012.  I’ve been telling myself that I need to change my mindset; need to change my approach to life. I’ve gone as far as striving to be a ‘change agent in my community and the world’.

The harder I tried to initiate this change, the harder it is to carry on. It is at this point of initiation that I realised that in order for change to happen, I need to rid myself of the old habits that hold me back from becoming a better person. It is at this point that I realised that I cannot change the people that hold me back, but I can change who I allow into my life- their impact- their contribution. My goal in life was to be a change agent; to change the world and to change lives. What I didn’t realise was that before I could change the world or lives; I had to work on myself first. Leo Tolstoy quotes;

“Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself”

After reading this quote in “Thinking for Change” by John Maxwell, I learnt that I need to empower myself first, before I can empower others. It is important to work on yourself before you can advise others on how best to live their lives- on how best to approach their problems and conquer their fears. Become the change agent to your own life; become a person that radiates integrity and strives for success.

As we march on into 2012, I urge you to focus on changing yourself- focusing on become a better person- a better brand. This is apparently the year for the “self” and the year for “wealth” and it is my mere coincidence that I found the quote by Leo Tolstoy “everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself”

Change is not easily nor is it fun; but if we can change ourselves this year- 2012 will be a year we can be proud of. John Maxwell writes in his book, Thinking for Change, that “only when you make the right changes to your thinking do other things begin to turn out right”  May this truly a year of the “self”- a year where we concentrate on improving the people we are- the people we wish to become.