After living on this earth for some time and encountering at least a few unpleasant experiences, you might have thought of doing something about the difficulties you regularly face.
You might have questions such as,
What if I want to change the outdated systems and beliefs of this world?
What if I want to help someone understand?
What if I want to inspire change in my parents, friends, spouse, colleagues, and so forth?
These are excellent thoughts and motivation for helping others. You can have all the good intentions to help others, but the truth is, the only thing you can change is yourself. Not to sound cliché, but you need to be the change that you would like to see in this world.
What do I mean by this? Well, let's get into the root of the problem first.
Let’s say you are happy doing what you are doing. For example, you are really happy with your school or your job. You are really happy with the relationships you have with your friends, parents, colleagues, teachers, and girlfriend or wife. Surrounded by this happiness, is it likely that you will harbor these desires to change the world around you?
My guess is the answer is probably no. The only time that such thoughts of change arise is when we are unhappy with our circumstances. When our external environment is not the way we would like it to be, we start developing an aversion towards it. We start making efforts to change it. We even get angry, frustrated, and miserable. And we believe that we can be happy once we fix our external environment. Right?
Do you see the problem here?
We humans live our entire lives trying to fix our external environment. For example, a husband says, “If only my wife would do this, this, and this, I would be very happy.” A wife says, “If only my husband would do this, this, and this, I would be very happy.” A child says, “If only my parents would understand me,” and parents say, “If only our son or daughter would understand us.” This same concept is seen in almost all aspects of human life, and this is the root cause of our unhappiness.
We keep trying to fix our external environment to bring the change, unaware that we have zero control over anything outside the boundary of our bodies. You may want to believe you can control and change your external environment, but the truth is, you cannot. And when all your attempts fail, you become frustrated and angry, you develop hatred, and without realizing it, you start operating as your own enemy.
Always remember this golden rule: The only person you can change is yourself. The problem that you need to fix lies within yourself. If you genuinely and truly want to bring a change, you first need to be that change.
The next logical question is, How can I be that change?
It’s simple: just understand yourself first. (You may wish to reread that chapter.)
Now you might say, What if I want to change the world in the service of mankind? What if I am already happy and content in life, but I truly want to help others?
The only way you can achieve this is by selflessly acting for the good of others instead of yourself. You cannot mix your own selfish desire or greed with a wish to change the world for others’ sake. If you can pick any cause in this world that you are passionate about making a difference in, make sure you do so by acting selflessly for the cause and not to achieve any worldly pleasure, fame, or wealth. Living a life of such passion is undoubtedly a very noble way to live in this world.
One way to make yourself capable of such greatness is to learn all you can about all the great people across history, from Jesus to the prophet Mohammed to Gautama Buddha, Mother Teresa to Gandhi, Nelson Mandela to Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Learn from their lives and look for the patterns and causes they stood for in order to bring about positive change in society.
You can use this advice for any goal you set your heart on. Always develop a habit of learning from true masters. The true masters are the people who are accomplishing or have already accomplished something that you wish to do as well. They will be the guiding light for your journey towards a similar goal and give you a foundation so that you don’t have to reinvent the wheel. For example, if you would like to know more about science, mathematics, spirituality, business, or economics, you need to learn from the people who have already walked that path. Always look out for experienced mentors who can help you in your life journey. If you cannot meet them in person, the second-best options are books. Develop the habit of acquiring knowledge by reading the works of true masters.
Now, this advice is for learning purposes only. Do not try to imitate someone you are not. Make sure you live an authentic life true to yourself. Follow your heart and your own passions. You can always learn from others whom you admire and who have more experience than you in whatever area you desire to know more, but at the end of the day, always do your own thinking and follow what your heart desires. Also, always keep a check on your feelings, and no matter what, you keep operating from a state of truth, love, compassion, humility, kindness, gratitude, and forgiveness.