In high school, there was a kid in my class who was what you’d call a typical bully. You wouldn’t want to get in his way. Being one of the tallest in the class meant it was best to just try and avoid him and stay on his good side.
He would often disrupt class, and get in arguments with teachers. His marks at school, as you’d expect weren’t great either.
But something remarkable happened one year.
From being an arrogant, loud, and disrespectful student, he turned 180 degrees and became a completely new person. Humble, quiet, respectful to teachers and his fellow classmates.
Not only that, but his marks drastically improved. His once pointless arguments with teachers in class became genuine questions to help him understand concepts.
I couldn’t make sense of what happened to this guy. How can someone change so suddenly?
I wasn’t the only one curious to his sudden flip in personality. When asked what made him change, he replied “I want to go to university”.
His reply made it clear. He was no longer playing games and now wanted to make sure he reached his future goals and dreams.
No more mucking around, he meant business.
It’s almost as if he’d had this realisation, an epiphany, that shook him to the core and changed him completely for the better.
You see, sometimes in life, we have these moments where we get so moved, it changes our outlook on life.
It could be an event, a conversation, a movie, or a book that resonates with us so deeply. We come out from such moments with a different perspective and a new found hunger for change.
It could be a book you read on starting an online business, or a conversation you had with an old friend, or news you received about your relative diagnosed with cancer.
Sometimes these events trigger sudden change within ourselves. Normally, when we think of change, we see it as happening over the long run.
When you think of weight loss, you think of it taking years to lose 50 pounds. When you think of starting a highly successful business, you think of it taking years of hard work and effort.
Like author Jonathan Fields says:
“We tend to think of profound change as a process that happens over time. Sometimes, that’s true. But other times, deep, lasting change can happen in a moment.”
It is these moments that I want to focus on. The sudden life changing moments.
When they do happen, when you are struck by an epiphany, do you follow through with it and make lasting change for the better? Or do you let the sudden hunger wither away and then get on with life with no change?
Unless you follow through with it and turn it into a habit, things will remain the same.
Take Control of Your Life: Making Change Happen
Have you read a great book recently?
Then get off your ass and do something about it. Take action. Sign up for something, write something, plan something, speak to someone.
Did you watch an inspiring video or attend a motivating seminar? Do something about it and take action without delay.
Why though?
The longer you wait, the less important it becomes. It’s important is to take action then and there when you are highly motivated. That is the time you are most likely to take action.
Remember, after a moment of insight, that feeling you get will only last as long as you want it to.
If you do have those moments, seize the opportunity and make the change permanent by making it a priority every day so it becomes a habit.
In the beginning, we may be highly motivated, but over time this motivation slowly fades. We cannot rely on sheer willpower alone.
A habit must be created in order to effortlessly follow through.