Change is inevitable. Change is constant.

Stagnancy is not healthy. This is the part of no change, where we remain as we were without significant results or improvement. A wise man once said, “If you stay on the right track for too long, you might end up being hit by the train.” So what is change really, and what effect does it have on us?

Change is making something different from what it is currently. From this simple definition, we can confer that change can happen anywhere and in anything. So, there is internal change and external change. Internal change as the name suggests is all about our emotions, feelings and behavior, things that cannot be measured by scale or quantified. On the other hand, external change is anything that can be quantified on the outside.

Change is important at times because it fosters more creativity. Designers for example love change. Why? They simply get bored of seeing the same thing all over again and this encourages them to come up with something different. Change gives us a different perspective of things or generally life. A change of attitude goes a long way in shaping how we behave, react and feel things. Positive attitude gives out positive aura and as my heavy lipped chemistry teacher used to say, “And the converse is true.”

Change not only impacts people in a personal way, it also has an effect on people surrounding us. A change in behavior of a very rude teenager encourages the parent that the teacher has been giving good discipline, something that probably they fell short of. A change of style in terms of clothing, can inspire a lady to look beautiful as never seen before.

It is imperative to mention that change is difficult. Look at Gadhafi. He did not change his dictatorial way and look at where that led him, 6 feet under. Change does not occur overnight and this I can give you as a fact. Change is a gradual journey that requires harmony between inner self and outer self.

Say you are naturally lazy. The sloth kind of lazy. In order to change and be a hard worker, there are some steps that you need to follow. One is that you should, by yourself or through help from others identify that you need the change. This means that first, you have accepted that you are lazy, naturally or probably through selection. Then you should be specific about the kind of lazy you exhibit. So this would take the form of identifying specific areas of laziness e.g. you cannot wake up early, you have problems with washing the dishes in time etc. This gives you direct focus on items of improvement and change by breaking them down into small manageable goals. This is the art of problem solving.

Then enters the art of analysis. This is not at all technical and every Tom, Dick and Omondi can quite grasp this. Here, all you really require is to analyze critically the pros and cons of the change. This is  a direct comparison of your current sloth lazy situation vis-a-vis your envisioned worker bee hard worker. At times change does not warranty good tidings and as such, we have to evaluate what effect it will have on us. If the pros outweigh the cons, then it is prudent to change.

So we have identified that you need to change. We have broken it down to specific ways on how you can change. We have analyzed the situation critically. The next step is now to convince yourself of the benefits that come with the change. This will give you the motivation of keeping true to the change rather than giving up after a while. Achievers envision the end goal and this is what really makes them push through even the hard times.

Then comes the easiest part. Doing it. I call it the easiest part because the biggest battle that we face as humans is the battle with oneself. Once you win the war of thoughts, emotions, attitudes, feelings inwardly, then it gets easier working on the change. Then again, we have to really monitor our progress and if possible reward ourselves for making a stride. When we continually work on the small tasks, it ultimately builds up on the greater problem of being lazy and after a while, you will be waking up at the crack of dawn ready to get the day started.

Change is here to stay. Do not fear change, embrace it. “Change is inevitable. Change is constant” ~ Benjamin Disraeli