If there is one piece of wisdom I wish people could easily grasp it’s this: if you don’t like where you are, change.
Unfortunately people don’t seem to get it.
I Don’t Like Where I Am
Throughout my life I have talked to a lot of people who are not happy with the circumstances they find themselves in. It can be painful to expect life to go one way when it goes another.
I can definitely relate. When I moved to New York, I was single, had no idea where I was going to live, had no car, was $20,000 in debt, and moved with a small amount of mostly borrowed furniture. I found a place, moved in and spent many lonely nights just wondering when life was going to turn around.
I didn’t like where I was, but I knew the secret: if you don’t like where you are, change.
Sadly, it seems people don’t always like that part.
I Don’t Want to Change
I am surprised at how often people don’t like their circumstances, but they don’t want to change. It’s almost mind blowing.
Imagine someone fell in a lake then said, “I don’t like being in these wet clothes, but I’m not going to do anything about it.” It would be baffling. You know all they have to do is get out of their wet clothes and put on something dry and things would be better.
Yet this is often how people treat life. They like the familiar. These are, after all, their favorite pair of jeans. If they take them off, they will have to choose a different pair of jeans.
Sometimes we get so stuck in our routines we don’t like to change them no matter how painful they are.
That’s not the way life works. If you don’t like where you are, change. You can do it!
You Have to Change
I used to weigh 240 and now weigh around 170. I didn’t like where I was, so I changed. I altered my diet, started exercising, and made health a major focus and goal in my life.
I used to be $20,000 in credit card debt. Now I don’t carry credit card debt. Aside from my mortgage I end each month financially free.
I have changed my reading levels, my professional career, my professional training, and even my hobbies to the point I practice my guitar every day.
Life doesn’t change until you do. If you don’t like where you are, change.
You Can Always Change
There’s always something you can change. There’s always a way to improve. There are a lot of things about my situation I can’t change. I am in an area of the country where I have no family except for my kids. I cannot move them, so I’ve decided to stay until they’re grown.
But that doesn’t mean I can’t improve. It doesn’t mean I can’t travel. It doesn’t mean I can’t meet more people.
There are always ways to earn more by delivering food, driving for ride-sharing, selling things on auction sites and more. There are always ways to improve skills with books, online courses, libraries, and clubs like Toastmasters. There are always ways to connect with religious groups, clubs, continuing education, and more.
If you don’t like where you are, change. The good news is, you can always change.
Now choose one thing to change today and find a way to do it.
