BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO BE
- Written by Eric North aka “The Happiness Warrior”
“We but mirror the world. All the tendencies present in the outer world are to be found in the world of our body. If we could change ourselves, the tendencies in the world would also change.
As a man changes his own nature, so does the attitude of the world change towards him. This is the divine mystery supreme. A wonderful thing it is and the source of our happiness. We need not wait to see what others do.” – Mahatma Gandhi
If the last year has taught us anything it’s that we need to be prepared for change, we need to embrace change and, most of all, we need to do our part to help make the world a better place. Our old ways are proving to be wrong and now is the perfect time to take the action needed to reinvent how we live and care for each other. We can find our truth and courage in our ability to utilize a crisis to change for the better.
As we move into a new post-pandemic era, most of what we used to be conditioned to think of as “normal” doesn’t work in our new reality. This is our chance to make things right!
One of my Happiness Warrior Core Values is to maintain a “ready-for-anything mindset”. With this mindset I can be a better leader and help create positive change that’s beneficial for everyone. External events can inspire change, but creating a strong and confident inner spirit is what’s needed to move forward in this rapidly changing world. Once we learn this, we can take better control of our lives and help create a world with more equality and justice. We can change our mindset to focus on what we want to change and take the steps to make it happen.
What Ghandi is teaching goes much deeper, revealing a deep spiritual truth. “What we see in the world is a mirror of what’s unseen within ourselves.” His words are a guide to help us dig deep and do the inner work on ourselves that we shy away from and ignore. Our inner change can create a spiritual awakening in our life-experience and create more inner peace and happiness. This comes from taking action beyond our daydreams and hopes, to provide us with intention and clarity. Real change comes when use intuition and intention to understand our motives and passions to help us grow. Once we can do this, we can manifest a better and happier reality. Happier people contribute more to the world and have empathy for others. This is what change is all about!
Once we understand that intuition is a powerful tool for change, we can start listening to our “gut” or inner voice. Change can be very daunting or seem impossible and we can feel stuck. However, it’s entirely possible when we understand that how we perceive ourselves is holding us back and keeping us stuck in a negative and seemingly endless cycle. Taking small steps and consistently changing behavior can make a big difference in how we feel about ourselves and how we’re perceived.
Allowing ourselves to be happy and free from external sources is a powerful mindset to develop!
Changing the world requires three essential components:
1. We stop judging or shaming others.
2. We replace complaining about others with reflection on our own thoughts and behaviors.
3. Encouraging and supporting the taking of action over the one thing we can control, ourselves.
CHANGE HELPS US GROW AND SEE THE TRUTH ABOUT OURSELVES
“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life”—Steve Jobs
Creating change in our lives starts with being honest with ourselves. We can only be honest with ourselves when we’re ready to do the hard work that comes with clarity and self-awareness. Forgiving ourselves for our past and making atonement is much more beneficial and positive than beating ourselves up over-and-over again. Honesty sets us free and is the greatest way to create real and productive change. A good way to learn to be honest with ourselves is to talk about it with someone we trust or journal and write down our thoughts. When I first started writing I felt very self-conscious and held myself back from what I honestly felt. When I gave myself permission to be authentic and honest my words felt more natural, and I developed a greater feeling of creativity and a newfound passion for writing.
CHANGE YOURSELF TO CHANGE THE WORLD NOW!
“People who are crazy enough to think they can change the world are the ones that do”--Rob Siltanen
The single greatest thing we can to do start making change that matters is to develop empathy. No one knows what someone else is going through and just the simple act of taking the time to understand and remove our self-imposed judgements is the tiny step that can change the world!
1. Avoid judging or shaming others.
2. Be open to different perspective.
3. Be genuine and AUTHENTIC.
4. Stop comparing ourselves to others, jealousy is ugly and takes a lot of energy.
5. Smile more, even a fake smile can create a happy feeling.
6. Give someone a genuine compliment, be real and be thoughtful.
7. Celebrate the success of others.
8. Speak out and take-action when you see or hear something unjust, protest for what you believe in.
9. Seek ways to provide value in actions and words. Words have spirit and never disappear.
10. Generosity and empathy are life skills that develop over time.
11. Change and improve yourself physically and mentally. Learn something new every day.
WE CAN’T GO BACK TO NORMAL
One thing that I’ve heard often in the last year is “when are we going back to normal?”. “Normal” is a state of mind and comes from creating inner peace. “Normal” doesn’t come from external forces but from an internal source where we are happy and honest with ourselves. “Normal” is when we are honest with our truths and feel confident with who we are in any situation. To make myself feel “normal” I ask myself the same questions every night before sleep “did I do my best today?” and “How can I do better tomorrow?”. These are the only truths that I need to guide me to do more for myself and for others, this is my normal. Life is too short for regrets and holding ourselves back. Not seeing who we really are will never get us anywhere.
If we believe that something needs to be changed it’s up to us to make it happen. We can be happier and more positive about our futures and we can do our part to help lift others as well. The world will always have problems and inequalities but if we believe in ourselves and show up and be heard, we can change anything. Be the change you want to be and see!