Richie Norton

Above photo credit by Sean MacEntee

DEFINING THE PROBLEM

What do you do when you feel like making a personal change is necessary to your overall happiness and well-being but there is no real pressure or urgency pressing you to make said change?

This is a  a conundrum we all wrestle with. We feel the undeniable need and/or desire to be doing something different in/with our lives, but simultaneously, we can’t bring ourselves to make the change (in many cases read: “sacrifice”) necessary to do it.

We may feel the need to change employment, but we don’t.
We may feel the need to start a specific project, but we don’t.
We may feel the need to pursue higher education, but we don’t
We may feel the need to heal a broken relationship, but we don’t.
We may feel the need to work to improve our spiritual lives, but we don’t.
We may feel the need to take steps toward a healthier physical or emotional life for ourselves and/or our family, but again, we don’t.
(This list could likely go on for eternity.)

It’s important to note that I’m not talking about mere whims and lusts. I’m talking about deep, honorable desires for the betterment of ourselves and/or the overall quality and satisfaction of our lives.

THE PROBLEM: WE DON’T HAVE TO CHANGE A THING

The desire for progression is innate, but the problem we face is that the actual act of progression is also a choice.

Without embracing our inherent need for progress, for positive growth and/or change, we’ll still go on living. Yes. But at what cost?

There is a very real danger present when we suppress our feelings to act on inspiration in exchange for the “safety” of the status quo. We risk sacrificing the opportunity to live a more fulfilling and purpose driven life. We risk sacrificing the opportunity to make a difference in the lives of others. We risk sacrificing the beautiful blessing of finding a greater sense of meaning in our own lives.

In short, we run the very real risk living a life of regret.

REAL LIFE INSPIRATION: MEET THE KAISERS

Photo credit: The Blog Is Found

Our dear friends, Nate and Jaclyn Kaiser, recently acted in the face of fear, uncertainty and doubt and found the courage to make a big change.

In their own words:

sometimes without even noticing it the things we build up to stand upon end up caging us inside.

we built it all up and up…a too big for us home by the beach in southern california and a big studio we didn’t really need and never really went to. the more we built, the higher it all got, the less free we felt. it all seemed to make sense when we were building until we realized the toll it was taking. for some reason we kept building up when individually, as a couple, and as a family our heart’s desire was for a life lived more simply. . . we most definitely knew we were ready for a change.

so… we’ve sold our home, closed the doors to our physical studio (not our business, the image is found is still alive and well), and moved 80 miles east and 1 mile up to [a] small mountain town. . . . [we are] loving the fresh perspective our new home and town is providing. . . . we’re not sure what or where exactly the next chapter of our family’s story will be, but we’re fully committed to enjoying, growing and thriving where we are now.

Inspiring, right?!

Nate and Jaclyn didn’t have to make this change, nor were the circumstances of their lives ideal for such a monumental leap. On paper, everything in their lives pointed to staying right where they were, everything in their lives pointed to continuing to head in the exact direction they were headed.

The Kaisers are living out their dream, because they chose to.

And you can too.

Even though they knew it would require sacrifice (as important change always does)—Nate and Jaclyn had the strength to say “no” to the status quo, the willingness to listen to the deepest desires of their hearts, and the courage to ACT on and live out their intent.

What if we all exercised this same courage in our own individual lives?

3 WAYS TO MAKE CHANGE (ESPECIALLY WHEN IT’S “UNNECESSARY”)

1. Determine what will add value to your life

Photo by Paul Bica.

Think about it, what does a ship absolutely need to stay afloat? I’m not a mariner, so I can’t exactly say. . . but what I can tell you is that ships don’t absolutely need lighthouses—but they sure do help!

When it comes to acting on inspired ideas, it’s easy to trick ourselves into thinking we don’t really need to do them, but that’s like a ship ignoring the beacon of light on a rocky shore.

Just like a ship at sea, everything outside of our most basal human needs, isn’t a necessity to “keep us afloat.” Essentially, all we really need to sustain life is clean air to breathe, food to eat, water to drink and rest to sustain us. After the basics, everything else simply adds or detracts value to/from our lives.

Which begs the question: How much value do you want to get out of life?

You get out what you put in.  Approach your life with intent, courage, faith and hard work, and you’ll reap the beautiful value those sacrifices provide. That’s the way our strange world works.

C.S. Lewis explained this principle beautifully when he said,

“Friendship is unnecessary, like philosophy, like art…. It has no survival value; rather it is one of those things which give value to survival.”

2. Swing the bat

Above photo by Mike Baird

Give your idea a chance. You’ll never hit a home run (or a base hit for that matter) if you don’t swing.

Take comfort in the words of Babe Ruth,

“Every strike brings me closer to the next home run.”

The thing about change is that, regardless of what we do (or don’t do, for that matter) the world is changing all around us. The good news is that as the world changes, new opportunities arise. In an ever changing world, opportunities come at you like balls from the pitcher’s mound—it might be a curve ball: swing anyway.

3. “The man who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.”

Confucius said that.

Smart man.

Some “unnecessary” changes can feel like a looming mountain to climb.

But remember, Rome wasn’t built in a day—and your beautiful life of intent won’t be either.

What is one small, “unnecessary,” thing can you do today?

(Hint: As Confucius advised, simply start with that small stone that is right in front of you.)