Change is the Only Constant

As Heraclitus, a Greek Philosopher said some 2500 years ago: “There is nothing permanent except change” Though the quote was said hundreds of centuries ago, it is the truth that is applicable today and will be relevant forever. This quote has some profound lessons to offer that could push us to embrace reality as it is.

I am always amazed by the beauty of this quote, so in this article, I would share what does mean and what we can learn from this.

What can we learn from this? 

We can see that everything changes with time, and change is the only constant. But how to apply this concept in our life? No problems, following are five practical lessons that may be beneficial to our situation. 

1. Embrace Change

Eckhart Tolle, a German born Spiritual Teacher and Self-Help author once said:“Some changes look negative on the surface but you will soon realize that space is being created in your life for something new to emerge”. I personally happen to be a fast paced business professional who doesn’t like stagnation but that doesn’t mean that I want to change things just for the sake of it but to improve and innovate the business processes. 

It is the chang in old and useless work habits and the forming of new ones. Habits don’t change overnight and I found myself changing quite a bit significantly over the years through self-reflection . Hadn’t I done so I guess I would have never progressed as a person and as a professional. But why should we embrace change? Here are a few pointers for your review:

• Embracing change may be hard but it allows us to let go of the past, forgive yourself and move forward
• It also allows for better opportunities to enter our lives
• It allows growth to take place and it ultimately makes us better people

How do we embrace change?

• In embracing change, we got to first accept our reality
• Once we found peace in accepting the facts, we can then proceed to change ourselves

2. Learn to Detach 

Sometimes we get too much attached to people or things in our lives. This may be spouse, friends, pleasure in life, or any object like our car or the house we live in. And this becomes the reason for our sorrow. This happens because we forget that everything in life is temporary.

We get attached to the pleasure and happiness in life, not realizing that they are also temporary. When we face a tragedy, we find it difficult to cope up or deal with because we have never learnt or experienced to detach. This is also the reason why we don’t want to get out of the comfort zone.

3. Accept the Change

Leadership is all about change. It may sound a cliché, but it’s true that change is hard. While you might find that even your high performing employees put up resistance when it comes to change in the workplace, by following these simple but practice strategies and well thought out plans, you can reassure your team members that, while things may be changing, you are just as committed to their overall success as ever before.

Nothing is permanent, so the wisest thing to learn is to accept the change.  I have seen many people including top business executives who are just unwilling to accept the changes and love the status-quo. They are just in love with their little comfort zone and that’s why they don’t get to the growth zone.  They feel horrible when someone very close to them leaves them or they lose a job or make a huge loss in business etc. This type of living only ensures suffering. 

4. Problems are also Temporary 

Since nothing is permanent, our problems are also no exception. This is one of the greatest advantages of nothing being permanent, the hard times are also not permanent. We have seen people behaving strangely when they face a problem, negative thoughts creep inside their mind. They tend to think that this problem will be there forever, it can never be solved, this is permanent, They are finished. 

Does this also happen to you? When we suffer, we feel that this suffering will continue forever; when we face an obstacle, we feel stuck and forget that this will end one day; when we have hard times, we assume that this will never end. But miracles happen with time, problems no longer remain a problem, and things change. In these situations, we must remember that there is nothing permanent except change.

5. We’ve limited Time 

A greatest lesson that we all can learn from a famous quote by Charlie Chaplin that reads: “Nothing is permanent in this wicked world - not even our troubles”.

Whether we like it or not, we are all going to die one day because everyone who has taken birth will die. Death is inevitable, just like change. Many of us become so busy with our lives that we completely forget the life hereafter. People don’t meditate, They don’t even try to connect with the divine. Similarly, Death is a form of change that we can’t resist.

If you don’t do what you always wanted to do and grow old, imagine how you would feel at that time. Won’t you regret that you didn’t do it? This feeling of regret is the worst of all feelings. But you can avoid it; you have time, so go for it. Even if you fail, at least you will be satisfied that you tried.

Takeaways  

Let’s read this saying of Steve Jobs more than once in which he says: “Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma — which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of others’ opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

Don't be afraid of it, either in a professional or personal setting. A lot of the things we're afraid of are feelings - feelings that will change much more quickly than we realise, yet can dwarf our decision making and cause us to stand in our tracks when instead we should be moving forwards.

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About the Author

Muhammad Sajwani is the Founder and Managing Director of Evolve HR which aims at transforming, enriching and evolving Human Capital of Pakistan, Evolve HR thrives in challenging assumptions that hinder organisational aspirations, by creating innovative solutions that yield maximum impact, scalability & benefit to a wider base of stakeholders. As a Business Coach and Organisational Consultant, Sajwani knows how to combine business insights with people insights to transform organisations and put them on the path to growth. 

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