Change

The following is the fourth installment of the paper on Personal Freedom.

"'Status Quo' is Latin for, 'The mess we are in.'" -- Ronald Reagan

Understanding Choice, Cause and Effect, and Responsibility lead to a singular option—accept or reject it. Some may argue that one can accept a truth but do nothing about it. I contend that inaction alone is the indicator of rejecting a thought or idea. As the ancient author said, “shew me thy faith without works and I will shew thee my faith by my works.” If a person believes that a diet will work but does nothing about it, the diet, and their belief in it, will avail them nothing. Only a belief that motivates to and includes action constitutes faith. Ergo, “…faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone.”

The action that must ensue is, again, a singular option—do something, or do nothing. There is no status quo. There is only growth or decay, advance or retreat. Change is constant. Change is certain. It is the obvious result of the endless ripples affected by all of the causes that occur around us. Jim Rohn puts it eloquently when he says, “All positions are temporary.” He goes on to say that if change is inevitable, we might as well choose the change we want.

”We can also do nothing. We can pretend rather than perform. And if the idea of having to change ourselves makes us uncomfortable, we can remain as we are. We can choose rest over labor, entertainment over education, delusion over truth, and doubt over confidence. The choices are ours to make. But while we curse the effect, we continue to nourish the cause. As Shakespeare uniquely observed, "The fault is not in the stars, but in ourselves." We created our circumstances by our past choices. We have both the ability and the responsibility to make better choices beginning today. (Jim Rohn, Change Begins With Choice)

Now, suffice it to say that you have a choice: you can accept what has been presented and go on, or reject it and go back. The key question to any and every decision is;

Where will this choice lead me five or ten years down the road, and is that okay?

Look for "The Keys That Unlock the Doors" as the next installment of the paper on Personal Freedom.