Change Communications

Ever wondered why opportunities for change seem to fall into the laps of some people and not others? Ever tried really hard to change someone or something and not manage? Well, what if you took that energy to concentrate on being more yourself? Maybe then, change might just come to you….

This story I found might sound a little twee, but it illustrates this point well. After all, don’t clichés contain a grain of truth?

In the Chinese folklore, there is the story of an ambitious young man who, on his twentieth birthday, became consumed with the desire to change the world. He spent the next 20 years trying to do that but couldn’t.

At age 40, he settled for trying to change China. He spent the next 20 years trying to do that but couldn’t.

At age 60, he settled for trying to change his village. For the next 20 years he strived to do that but failed.

At age 80, he decided to focus on changing his family. He spent the next 20 years trying to do that but couldn’t.

At age 100, he decided to focus on changing himself.

But the next day, he died.

The lesson? If you want to change the world, you better start with yourself.

So the question to ask ourselves is: In what ways can I become the change I seek to see happening around me?

(c) 2006 F. Basili, President, HumaNext. From the workshop on change and transformation. All rights reserved.

Another post on this subject…