On changing our views
When making a statement, I think many people hold you to that statement for a long long time. Have you ever had the occasion where someone’s held a gripe (or similar) with something you said 17 years ago? I have, and it sucks. Should we be held to the same views we had when we were 17, 25, 42?
No, I don’t believe we should. We can’t be expected to keep the same beliefs and values throughout our adult lives. We’d be stuck in the same loop the entire time, not learning anything new, not experiencing new moments, not even loving the people closest to us.
It would be a sad existence to live without change. Not just change in general, but changing the way we view our lives and ourselves. Everyday we are exposed to new information — blog articles, documentaries, stories. This new information is everywhere, and whether you like it or not, we are absorbing this information — consciously and subconsciously.
Some of this information might cause you to actively challenge your previous views. Like when I found out how sugar is in everything, it challenged my views on ‘low-fat’ dietary habits. Or how I used to think watching Mindless T.V. was okay.
It’s okay to say you have changed your mind.
We live our lives the best we can with the knowledge we have available to us at any given time. There is no wrong in that. So when we learn something new, our views change. All that knowledge and experience over the years will change you. Maybe not drastically at first, and you may not even notice it, but you’ll look back and think huh, so Terence was right, I have changed. It happens to me all the time, where I compare what I eat, think, and do with how I was a year ago, 2 years, even 7 years ago. It’s amazing the difference we see when we take a little time to reflect.
It comes down to the choices you make on a daily basis. Cutting down on coffee in your day? That’s a change. Going for a short run for the first time? Another change. Reading a book on parenting? You guessed it, another change.
These might not seem like big decisions or changes, but change always starts small. It’s a little choice here, another over there, and before you know it, you’re not drinking any coffee, you’re exercising 4 times a week, and being a fair parent.
Don’t be afraid to change the way you see your world. Be bold in admitting that you have changed your views. It’s all about growing and changing and adapting in our world — it’s made you who you are today.
Originally published at helpgrowchange.com on April 12, 2017.
