Bring the Change

There is a story of a Bus driver who always drove the same route. Most of his passengers were regulars and well known to the Bus driver. There was a passenger who had the habit of paying for his fare with Bank notes and requesting for his change. One day, the passenger again paid for his fare with Bank notes and requested for his change. This time, the Bus driver had had enough. He vented out his frustration and exclaimed – “You cannot always demand change, sometimes you have to bring the change!”.

We all have one or two things we would like to see change. Things that can be made better, easier or even fairer. Sometimes we can fully articulate what that change should be and the associated benefits that will accompany the change. Other times, all we know is that the current situation is not good enough- It simply is not working for us and in some cases for others as well.

As with most things in life, not all changes are within our control. Some are external to us, requiring others to action for the change to happen or for it to be successful.

While we may be unable to change everything, or even change a lot, we will have opportunities to make changes, no matter how little to some things. There will be things within our control that we can change. We can change our outlook to life, looking out for positives. We can change the way we view disappointments that come our way, using them as stepping stones for the next stage. We can be the friendly neighbour, the attentive friend, the diligent employee, the empathetic employer. We can make a change no matter how small.

Expecting a change is not enough, sometimes we have to bring the change!

Contentment as a key to happiness

Happiness is a simple yet intriguing concept.

Part of what makes happiness intriguing is that people experience happiness differently. What makes one person happy may not necessarily have the same effect on another person.

You, like I have, may have come across some seemingly wealthy and successful people who are not happy, making you wonder why. You may even have imagined how much happiness you will derive from achieving a particular thing, only for that thing to happen and the happiness you experienced was at best short-lived or at worst never even materialised.

While there may not be one thing to make everyone equally happy, perhaps there may be something that those who seem to be happy for majority of the time have in common?

Could that ‘something’ be contentment?

I view contentment as being able to be happy with my present situation; where I am and what I have achieved so far. Contentment for me is not an excuse to settle for mediocrity. It does not mean a lack of ambition or desire, giving up or no longer striving to be better. It is not an act of surrender or hopelessness.

Contentment is about appreciating the here and now. It is about counting my blessings, no matter how small they may seem and looking ahead with optimism that things can and do get better. It is choosing to be happy, regardless!

Learning to be content with who we are, where we are or what we have achieved can hold a lot of positives. A sense of contentment does not limit our expectations, rather, it allows us to appreciate how far we have come while we pursue our ambitions and look forward to the next stage of our lives.

Consider contentment as a key to happiness!

Try again tomorrow

What if you knew what you wanted and had gone for it?

It is common knowledge for many that if you want something, you go for it. You put the resources, the time and effort into it to make it work. So, what if after you have put all of that in, you still don’t get the result that you had hoped for? You have tried but things have not quite turned out as expected, or they have turned out to be what you would call an absolute disaster? You have put the money into that investment, time into that relationship, effort into that job, you have worked extremely hard trying to build… but it’s all come crashing down!

This crashing down, falling apart, can lead to a deep sense of loss, of devastation, of despair. Many at this point may lose heart and some may even become a shadow of their former self. The dream has been snatched! It’s not going well!

I have learnt that in life, even with the rightest of all motives, the best of all intentions, the greatest of all endeavours, not all situations will go as planned or as expected. The results, the timings may be different from what we had anticipated or wanted. While we may not be able to change all situations to suit our expectations, we may be able to change how we view these experiences.

We can try to change what we do next, how we take it on from there. We can learn the lessons from what has not worked today and use them for when we try again tomorrow.

If it hasn’t worked today, give it another go, try again tomorrow!

Success is in the doing

“Success is a journey, not a destination. The doing is often more important than the outcome.”

– Arthur Ashe

Awards, applauses, recognitions are some of the things that are frequently associated with success. But what if we were to consider success as being much more than that? Perhaps we can look at success from an everyday practical sense and appreciate not just the outcomes of our endeavours but also the efforts we put in to help us succeed.

Success to me is achievable with starting something new, with continuing to put our best into what we already do, with seeing to completion what’s already started, with mastering what’s already known. Success is achievable when we amend old habits, when we restart the things we’ve previously done, when we take a fresh look at things and do them differently.

Success can come in giant leaps or in small steps; with practice, with perseverance, with hard work… and most importantly it’s never too late to succeed!

Being considered as the brightest, richest, most successful, upcoming and promising person to have made a mark in the world is definitely a great achievement. However, the reality is this is not something everyone will attain. Not everyone will demonstrate skills beyond their years or emerge as leaders in their chosen field, but everyone can strive to do their best, to put their best foot forward, and to achieve.

Success is not just in the outcome, it’s also in the doing!