Starting a new year is a good time to think about making some changes – desired changes, needed changes.
Why should you change?
The Savior said, “Be ye therefore perfect, even as your Father which is in Heaven is perfect.” (Matthew 5:48) So, being now imperfect, how can you try to be perfect? Winston Churchill offered a clue when he said “To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often.”
God has granted you the great power of free will as well as the ability to envision and affect your own fate by changing yourself. You can choose to be better, to improve. A change in your life is needed for you to achieve new goals or move beyond your present circumstances.
If there were no change, there'd be no butterflies.
How can you affect change?
The first step is to recognize that change is necessary. By focusing energy on creating a new positive situation or habit to take the place of the old and unwanted, you will be able to affect change. But, don't waste energy on fighting the negative, seeking to place blame, or focusing on the past. Move on. Your desire to move on must be stronger than your desire to hold on.
Life will change quicker as you change something you do daily. If you keep doing the same things every day, you will keep getting the same results.
What should you not change?
Is the act of changing or seeking changes necessarily good or beneficial? Not always. Some things you should try to change. Some things you should not. Change for the sake of changing may not be good. Avoid jumping out of the frying pan and into the fire, or spending time beating on a wall hoping that it will change into a door. Don't be fooled into thinking that just because something is new it is better.
Make a deep, thorough and sincere examination of your life to identify those things that are valuable, worthwhile and beneficial to your happiness and ultimate improvement or perfection. Maybe the only change that is needed is your dedication to such things.
“Open your arms to change, but don't let go of your values.” – Dalai Lama
by Ken R. Young
