We all talk about why we need a system change and how badly and quickly we need it.
We advocate changes in everything we battle within our lives. Intellectually we all accept the value of change, but we are not so ebullient when it comes down to us being the one who must change to force external changes.
Everyone wants everyone else to change and finally no one changes. Some want others to change first for them to follow suit. Some don’t know that self change is needed. Changing the world starts with me – it always comes back to me.
If I want to change my life, then it must start with me – not anything external, not the country, not others to change, just me and I’m the country.
Mahathma Gandhi said – “Be the change you want to see in the world” and that is the toughest thing to do, when what I want is others to change, not me. Today we blame others for not changing and not changing the system ignoring the fact that I’m a part of that system.
It’s a system I have promoted by design or by default.
Changing the world might seem like an insurmountable task, but that’s because many people approach changing the world in the wrong way. They focus on trying to create wide-sweeping changes in the political and social structures around them – some for the love of the country and some for vested interests.
The problem is, these structures have been sturdy for so long that they are almost impossible to change as long as people’s understanding on issues remain at the same level and desire to change for the longer term happiness comes at the expense of short term gains.
Two reasons why we are in the status we are in today as a country is because our productivity as the workforce is very poor. People have been depending on welfare programs by the successive governments and hence become a ‘dependent nation’. Economic reforms that were necessary were objected by the successive opposition political parties and agitated voters to protest.
When dreams fade
When people realise that changing the world is difficult, they begin to give up on the dreams they had. They let those dreams wash away and replace them with “realistic” goals that other people give them. To change the world, you have to change yourself first. You have to change your mentality, your attitudes and your actions. It’s not easy changing yourself, but it’s necessary if you want to make a massive impact.
Most people compare themselves to others. Usually this is done through social media. You go onto Instagram, or Facebook, and see other people living amazing lives that you wish you had. A dirty little secret about social media (especially pictures-based social media) is that much of it is based on people pretending to be something they are not.
You know nothing about what’s going on with people except what’s going on in the picture.
People have different motives to engage in the same actions. Many people use social media as a tool to portray themselves in a significantly more favourable way than they would normally be.
This has unfortunately also led to higher levels of narcissism among people in real-life and a lack of authenticity. We expect people to put up facades and to follow the status quo. That’s why authenticity works — fewer and fewer people are authentic these days.
What does it mean to be authentic and genuine and engage in activities that help people rather than actions to teach lessons and take revenge? It means many things. Partly it means being principled to your beliefs, partly it means not lying in an attempt to make yourself look better, partly it means stating how you actually think and feel.
Protest for your own people
Generosity and empathy are two incredibly undervalued states of mind. To use them properly, you must first understand what they are. Generosity is about giving to other people without expecting anything back in return. Many people view generosity one-dimensionally, unfortunately.
Many people view generosity as the act of giving money, often to charities. However, this is an incredibly limited view of what generosity is. You can be generous by giving a service, a good, money, or some advice. Generosity is simply about the act of giving to others without the expectation of return.
Many people believe that changing the world requires that you focus on making sweeping changes in the political and social structures of the world. However, this simply isn’t true. Many people who have changed the world did so, not by focusing on changing entire nations, but by focusing on improving and changing that which they were already familiar with.
Recognise that changing the world does not require making massive actions.
Sometimes all it takes is trying to fix and improve what’s closest to you and affects you personally. You can often make a bigger impact by trying to change and improve what’s closest to you than trying to change the massive political and social infrastructures that exist.
Recognise that you can change the world — starting today — Now go out there and make a positive impact. Let us do what we can do to make the change for the country and our businesses to survive these difficult times.