Improvement through change

Most people that I know have solid opinions of the world. They believe in certain things. Many times, those beliefs are unshakable.

This is both good and bad. It is good when it keeps us grounded, humble, hard-working, moral, etc. But it is bad when it holds us back or causes us to unfairly judge those around us.

Few people have flexible opinions. If we hear that someone does, we assume that means they are weak. We assume that means they are gullible. We don’t feel they are agile and can adjust when needed, we see them as weak-minded.

Yet flexibility is important. Everyone knows the saying, “The only constant in life is change.” Change is all around us. We cannot escape the changing world we live in.

These are two oppositive views. On one hand, we assume we have the right mindset. On the other hand, we assume we will have to change our mindset to fit with the changing environment.

Most people cannot navigate between the two. We all tend to fall somewhere along the spectrum between flexible and inflexible. This makes it difficult to know what we should be doing. How can we continue to thrive with so much change?

The answer isn’t to be blown about by any storm. The answer isn’t to hold rigidly to outdated beliefs. The answer isn’t to pass judgment on those around us. So, what do we do?

I’ve found the best way to address this isn’t to pick a side. It is to shift your focus. We should focus our energy on improvement. By asking how we can get better, we will have to change at times. But sometimes we realize the change doesn’t improve anything. It is change for the sake of change.

By keeping the focus on improvement, we can use those values and beliefs to guide our choices throughout life. But we will be able to see when they are holding us back. When we stop making progress, we know our beliefs are preventing us from reaching success.

Dropping our opinions and focusing on learning is the key to overcome this rigidity. It allows us to become flexible. It doesn’t mean we haphazardly change our mind. It means we see the need for a change to get better. Then we set out to figure out how to change.

By shifting the focus to improvement, we start to make progress. We get better and better over time. We change when necessary while staying as true to our core values and beliefs as possible. But we can admit when they are flawed and holding us back.

This is why change is so difficult. It requires the ability to change and hold true. Without the right perspective, this could cause us to stumble. By avoiding rigidity, we allow ourselves to adapt to the new world. By knowing our values, we avoid becoming a complete product of the system without core values and beliefs.

Improvement becomes the way forward. Improvement allows us to keep making progress. It allows us to change when we need to change. But it also allows us to avoid much of the unnecessary change. Change for the sake of change will drag us through life, always starting over at any sign of adversity.