Recently a friend said, “As long as we’re alive, we can change.” She had just chosen to make some huge changes, against all odds, in her life. I was struck by the simple yet overwhelming power of her words.

She is so right. We will never stop changing. If we want to grow, we have to change, but many of us experience our own powerlessness to change. How often do we cry out and ask God to change us but yet, still find ourselves unchanged?

Or worse, we believe the change needs to be made by someone else or we talk ourselves into believing “this is just the way it is.” To change our circumstances may not always be possible, but to change ourselves is always possible.

You are the only person you can change.
Sometimes we deplete our energy, hoping and praying “they” will change but we never stop to look inside of ourselves. Many times, we want others to change because we don’t want to do the hard of work of looking at our own flaws and seeing where we could improve. We focus so much on others because it distracts us from seeing who we really are. When we take the time to address our own shortcomings, we’ll find that we are the ones that need to change. Admitting that you are the one that needs to change is a sure sign of growth and I believe our quality of life truly depends on our ability to change.

As long as we’re alive, we can change.
When we discover that we can only change ourselves, we need to start looking for new information that will help us change. Pick up a book that will give you new ideas and begin to practice new behaviors. Old habits die hard and new habits take time to establish.

I remember my mom saying, “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks”. I’m not sure where she picked up that line but I have to disagree with my mom. I believe an old dog can learn new tricks.

I believe when we get sick and tired of being sick and tired, we’ll dig a little deeper and find there’s always more we can do to make our lives happier, more productive, and satisfying.

The only thing constant is change and yet I find myself at times resisting it.
Change is not always easy or pleasant, but I do think that most times it’s beneficial. I know that when I get through a specific change, my life will be so much better. I’ll be on the other side and reap the benefits of change. Even though I know this, I still resist. I resist because I know the process may be hard and it’s easier to stay the same.

Dr. Dobbins has a quote that I love. He says, “Until the pain of staying the same, hurts more than the pain of change, people prefer to stay the same.” It’s our human nature at work within us. We seek comfort but change and growth rarely happen in comfort. We have to get past the pain of change so we can grow and develop as women.

The serenity prayer has become my go-to when dealing with change.

God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change;
Courage to change the things I can;
And wisdom to know the difference.

God is always more than happy to give us courage, strength, help, and wisdom when we decide we’re ready to change.

What change are you struggling with today? How can looking back at change from your past help you get through it?