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President's Message
- The Answer Lies Within Ourselves
December 2000 |
Inertia
is a very interesting and powerful concept. According to Webster's Dictionary,
inertia is "the tendency of a body to remain at rest or stay in motion unless
acted upon by an external force." This means that something that is already
moving will tend to keep moving until something stops or slows it down. And if
something is standing still, it will continue to stand still until something
moves it. This law holds true for all inert objects.
As human beings, we deal with a type of inertia within our very selves. We
develop habits, attitudes, personalities and behaviors that tend to keep us
doing what we have been doing. We may not like what we are doing or what is
happening in our lives, but rather than change, we stay in the old ruts we have
created for ourselves. Most people tend to blame their problems on outside
forces like the weather, the economy, their boss, or perhaps their spouse or
their parents. The result is that the problems continue to exist and nothing
changes to send people down new roads to happiness or success.
There is a very real tendency in all of us to keep doing what we've been
doing, and therefore to keep getting what we've been getting. That's
wonderful if we are enjoying what is happening in our lives - but it is tragic
if we are not happy with what we've been getting from life.
So what can we do? The concept of inertia would teach us that we will keep
doing what we are doing until we are acted upon by some outside force; that
would be the case if we were inert objects.
The truth is, of course, that we are not inert objects. An inert object is
something that cannot act on its own accord. And although it is true that we
will tend not to change until something happens, the change that happens will
never be because of being acted upon by some external force - the change that
must happen must come from inside us. And changes within ourselves will always
come about because we choose to take action rather than be acted upon.
Even the concept that someone else can motivate us is a great fallacy. We
must motivate ourselves! Only when we realize that we must take charge of our
own lives - and stop waiting for something to happen to us - we will be able to
make the changes in our lives to bring us the joy and satisfaction of
accomplishment and achievement.
Change and personal growth are always challenging, and often difficult and
scary. But they can also be very rewarding! Change is often necessary in order
to reach our goals and make our dreams come true. And change is often what helps
us to achieve personal growth. The best part is that we do not have to wait one
more day to make changes within ourselves!
It is my hope that all of us will take time out now and then to evaluate who
we are on the inside and how our lives are going. We really can't change
anyone else, but we can change ourselves!
If we don't like what we are doing, or if we recognize areas that we need
to improve, we can make the commitment to ourselves or even to our loved ones
that we will change. It will be difficult, and we may never be perfect at it.
But if we try, we will get better at it. And that will be a change!
Sincerely,
Frank
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