Change Is The Only Thing Constant

Nothing ever stays the same.

Even the same habits, routines, behaviors, become different, as the years go by.

Or, we can be doing the same thing, over and over, not realizing how it’s changing us.

We’re the ones who’re changing.

There is no staying still, we’re either growing, or dying.  Or both.

Change is the only thing constant.

Places

A restaurant opened right beside my parent’s house.  The house where I used to live before I was married.

And it stinks.

It stinks of hamburgers, and there’s always a lot of people loitering around the street, littering all the time.

There’s a gaggle of people waiting, all through the night, making it hard to get a good night’s sleep, with all of the noise and insensitivity going on.

Why the hell would a restaurant be in the middle of a residential area?

But then again, that’s not the only change that’s happened in the past years.

The street has been home to houses, then a big apartment complex, then a school.

Then after some time, another school, right beside the old one.  And now, a burger restaurant right beside our house.

Not bad for a small, two-lane street, right?

Over time, I felt I was losing the quaintness of the place I used to call home, and gotten used to, for so many years.

I was losing the quietness, the safety, and the secrecy.  Replaced with noisy and littering people who don’t care about you, tough two-way traffic, and the sickening smell of almost-rancid burgers.

I also began to be grateful for the quiet times my street has given me, and of the memories I have.

Now, they remain, only memories.

Change is the only thing constant.

 

Skills

It feels good to learn something new, and it feels even better once you get to the point of fluency and ability.

I will always remember the time, and the feeling, when I could play my first song on the guitar, without stopping whenever I would change a chord.  It was magical.

It was a clear sign of progress, and of skills being built.

At first, I thought it was random, and that I just had to be in the right environment to learn the skills I wanted.

I was wrong.

If I just stayed where I was, I realized, I wouldn’t have gotten better.

In fact, I would have gotten worse.

Change is automatic.  Whatever I would do, change would happen.

Progress, is not.

And so, I had to work at slowly getting better at my skills, and my craft.

I took trainings, workshops, worked under people I respected and admired.  Practiced, and put myself in situations where the best way out would be to practice, and deliver.

And, deliver I did.

Slowly, it wasn’t about just having a job for me, or having safety and stability.

I always wanted to coast through life.  Good thing that changed.

That’s not a nice way to die, having not done anything.

From just a job, to a mission.

Good thing we can always put in the effort to achieve change, and progress.

Thank God, change is the only thing constant.

 

Relationships

When I got married, I expected change.  That’s what everyone else says.

Victa and I had settled on a rhythm that worked for us before we got married, and going into married life, I wasn’t expecting a big change, because I felt we already had a winning formula.

That was quickly smashed to pieces the minute we moved into our new home.

Even relationships are not immune to change.  They either continue to grow, or they stagnate and wither away.

There are friends that I haven’t seen or contacted in quite some time.  I’m not entirely sure if we can call each other friends at this point.

That’s what neglect and distance does to relationships.  Unlike the close groups of friends who I’m regularly in contact with.

I remember seeing somebody I consider a friend yesterday.  I knew we had a lot of catching up to do, and so did he.  We weren’t as chummy as before.  Maybe it’s a distance.

At some point in the conversation, I started to doubt if we ever were really good friends.

The relationship may not have changed, but I have, for sure.

And that changes, everything.

Especially, your relationship with yourself.

Change is the only thing that’s constant.

 

Achievements

I remember my grandfather, Louie.  He was such an inspiring man, and I learned many lessons from him.

This perhaps, is the one lesson he left us, after he passed away.

When he was still very active and strong, he grew his business to be one of the strongest manufacturing firms in the country.

Then, when he grew older, and with the children running the company, complacency set in.

There was a time when no innovation was happening, and people were just betting on the technology, know-how, and skill that people had, which was cutting edge at the time, to bring them through to the future.

Except it didn’t happen.

Fast forward 10 or so years, and the company was struggling, in debt, and vastly outgunned by the competition, and by what the market was expecting companies in the industry to do.

You can be on top, and the best in the world, but if you don’t do anything, you’re going to stay the same and stagnate, while the rest of the world zooms past you, leaving you in the dust.

Fortunately, there is a way out of rock bottom.  Just because you’ve hit it, doesn’t mean you get to stay in it.

It’s totally up to you.

Change is the only thing constant.

 

Change is automatic, progress is not.

Whether you do anything or not, change will happen.

The question is, will it be better for me, or worse for me?

And for change to be the kind you want – progress, you have to be deliberate and put effort behind it.

You can change anything you want – your body, job, environment, mindset, beliefs, anything!

As long as you are deliberate about them.

Figure out the change you want, take action, and build habits around yourself to support the change.

Change is the only thing constant.

 

What’s something you want to change?  Please share in the comments below!