I’m not interested in preserving the status quo; I want to overthrow it.– Niccolò Machiavelli
Weddings are a great start, but time changes all of us. If you aren’t changing together, than you’re changing apart. The status quo doesn’t last.
What does that mean?
This is a famous misquote, but an interesting one none the less. In his day, and in his trade, change was necessary for business to be good. His job was to change that which was the status quo.
He was the expert, and his job was to help those out of power win it back, and to help those in power remain there. Even for those attempting to remain in power, it was critical that they stop doing what was harming their power base, and thus change the status quo.
When Machiavelli was in town, change was to be expected. That was his job. And business was good. While any given ruler was probably doing dozens of things right, the one thing that he was doing wrong could easily cost him his rule, so the status quo must go! At least that’s what this mis-quote means to me.
Why is continuous change important?
How close are you to perfect? What are you not doing completely right? Is there room for improvement in nearly every aspect of your life? Then if you are to improve, you will, by definition, have to overthrow the status quo and embrace change.
How long will things be the way they are right now? In a blink of an eye, things have changed slightly. Is it enough of a change to require you to do something differently? Probably not just yet, but keep an eye on it, as change is the only certain thing in life.
Eventually, the small changes will become big enough that you have to do something about it. While that doesn’t sound like continuous change, we’ve only been talking about one small aspect of your life. How many other aspects are there, and how many are changing?
Some will change faster than others, and some will change in spurts. Monitoring the status of the world around you is part of your job, right? Keeping in touch with all of the different aspects of your life will most certainly prove challenging. However, if you don’t keep on top of it, things could change suddenly, my Prince (or Princess).
Where can I apply this in my life?
How many times does the failure of a marriage seem to center around “they just changed,” as if it were something sudden and unexpected? While in some cases it may be the truth, I would imagine that it isn’t the usual case.
I would imagine (from personal experience, as well as from observation of others) that the change is small, subtle things that get overlooked, until they are too big to ignore. The status quo was maintained, even though the situation had changed.
As is usual with a time-constrained issue, you will have to prioritize the aspects of your life you wish to examine, and your willingness to have allow change to sneak up on you. Personally, I’d start with your relationships. Then consider what you do to make money, as that is a fairly useful thing to maintain.
Grab some paper and write down a few of the more important parts of your life. You don’t have to get it perfect, you can always come back and re-do the exercise at any time you wish, with an updated list. Leave some space between each for some notes.
Now to make those notes: with your list in hand, consider how quickly (or slowly) each tends to change, or if it is steady, then makes an abrupt change. Knowing the nature of the changes allows you to better determine how much effort you are willing to put into monitoring each aspect of your life.
What I try to do is to review the prior week and plan the coming week on Sunday afternoon. For me, it’s a logical place to transition from one week to the next. I am going to add a check of each of the important areas in my life to the list of things to do. It probably won’t be more than 5 min total, split between all of them.
Whenever you do it, and however often you do it, the point would be to notice what may have changed in each aspect of your life, and then determine what you need to do to change with the times. Then all that is left is to overthrow your personal status quo, and move forward with your life.
Because the times, they are a-changing!
From: Twitter, @LotsaMoneyForU
confirmed at : http://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/n/niccolomac384159.html
Photo by Millzero Photography
