That class altered my life forever.
“Change is the only constant!” he said, paraphrasing the familar quote, “Change is constant. Change is inevitable” by Benjamin Disraeli.
“Huh?” I thought.
“There is only one predictable element in nature, and that is CHANGE!” he said again.
“How could change be a constant?” I puzzled.
“Nothing stays the same . . . except this fact. “Change is the only constant – it’s inevitable!” he said with just a touch of irritation.
I suspected he wouldn’t repeat it again; but thankfully I got what I needed, a “whack on the side of the head,” so that the dim bulb of enlightenment began to glow through the thickets of significance in my freshman brain . . . it was finally starting to sink in.
What he meant was, “change IS the only constant!” Ah, ha. I got it!!! He smiled with knowing and obvious delight at my discovery of this basic truth.
Professor Mandelstamm was one of the most highly respected Economics Professors at MSU when I was an intrepid student at that University. I was happy to have grasped the concept, if only to please him. He taught the introductory economics classes in a big lecture hall with 400-500 students, and put on a wonderful performance every day; yet somehow managing to illustrate the efficiency of free markets to a group of young, blank minds.
Faculty and students alike admired Mandelstamm, as he had a way to drawing upon his love and knowledge of economics to make the subject come alive. It wasn’t all just about dry graphs and dusty and ivory tower, untested economic theories; it had to do with the real deal.
When he lectured, it was about life, livingness and change – one of the vital ingredients of existence itself.
CHANGE IS INEVITABLE
This one basic law stayed with me – as valuable as it is true. “Change is inevitable.” Things do change. And what’s more, if they aren’t changing for the better then they are getting worse. Things just do not stay the same, even for a minute. Things are going on all the time around you. New inventions, developments, conflicts, disasters, unpredictable elements of various types. All these can change your life in a minute . . . for better or for worse. Stuff does (and often does) happen!
Just having the fact that “change is inevitable,” as a stable concept to hang onto was valuable when things did get out of control. I realized I could do something to change the downward slide, as change was not only possible but also inevitable. I just had to use this bit of wisdom to my advantage and turn things around.
And when everything seemed to be going my way, I used this knowledge to be alert to the rapidly shifting winds of fortune and to prepare for this contingency before disaster struck so as not to be left shipwrecked on the shoals with no hope of rescue.
In fact, this insight has done more to strengthen my outlook in life than anything else I have studied or experienced. Failure never affects me for long as I know that change is just around the corner and it’s all part of the process of living. I just have to ensure it is a change for the better.
RESISTANCE TO CHANGE
One of the biggest barriers to expansion and growth is resistance to change. It can stop your chances for future success dead cold and past achievements can easily become as meaningless as a canceled check. Some people resist change because in their minds, change equals pain. This is where the “no pain, no gain” saying does have relevance.
Also, the old saying, “don’t look back, they might be gaining on you,” has some merit in this circumstance. Unless you’re using your experience and accomplishments to find new markets and ways of presenting your products or services, you’re losing ground. If, rather than embracing change and using it to advantage, you resent and reject any change out of hand, you’re doomed to hold on to the past, mentally, emotionally, physically and perhaps just as importantly, financially. But, fortunately, you hold the keys to adjust your future to the way you want it.
CHANGE YOUR ATTITUDE
The easiest thing to change, is your attitude. This is because what you keep your attention on, determines your attitude. When your attitude changes from dwelling on the past (whether successes or failures) to being constantly on the outlook for future opportunities, you’re back in the drivers seat. And from this positive state of mind, you inevitably find what you’re looking for. “Failure is not an option” becomes the byword along with, “the future is what you make it.”
Deciding on some worthwhile objective begins with you. If it’s something you really want to accomplish, the small setbacks and obstacles won’t bother you. They simply become incorporated into the overall process of winning.
Even the handling of success is easier once you have recognized that change is inevitable. No one can be “king of the hill” forever and just rest on the laurels of past triumphs. You must accurately discover what exact elements led to your present success so you can strengthen them, set new goals to shoot for, get back in the game and play to win.
Things are going to change and if you don’t get into action to change them in your favor, the inevitable fact of change could work against you. The worst thing you can do is to do nothing. Only then would change inexorably erode away at what you now have.
Your attention has to be in the “here and now” while being alert to the possibility of changes on the horizon and finding ways of using them to improve your condition and your future.
Now . . . say it with me, “Change is the only constant!”
Got it?
daniel w. jacobs
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