Change and gratitude

I think about change sometimes. How do cultures change? How do people change? How do I change?

The first realization I had about that was that change usually doesn't happen until there's no way to avoid it. When I moved back home, I was surprised to see that, despite all the growth in the area, there still weren't sidewalks along the older roads.

Where the sidewalk ends

"They don't bother unless there's a new development," my mom explained. They had petitioned for sidewalks along that main road ever since they moved in, but no one had bothered because no one wanted to foot the bill. Compared to other projects, it was pretty easy to ignore. Something being a good idea didn't mean it was going to happen.

Something similar stood out to me as I read Hidden Figures. It was the World War II labor shortage that first caused people to reach out to African American women to work for NASA. Once they did, the whole country was blessed because of the brilliant women who solved some incredibly hard problems. And yet, without the original labor shortage, all of these women would have been an untapped resource for perhaps several more decades. All too often, change comes only when the usual options are exhausted.

Sometimes it is easier recognize the need for change than to create the change. This is often true for our own habits and mindsets. We may know that the usual options of coping and complaining aren't working anymore, but how do we make the actual change? There are books and podcasts out there, but it can be a chore constantly examining your thoughts and mindsets. It's even possible to listen to those podcasts and come away thinking of people in your life who need the advice more than you. How do you enact change within yourself?

Then the answer came to me: Change is hard, but gratitude is easy.

If you approach life with gratitude, so many problems can disappear. Perhaps you can't (or shouldn't) avoid all conflict, but its resolution can come without ill will on your part. When you live with abundance, there are fewer battles to fight. And best of all, personality flaws like laziness, impatience, and selfishness will melt away in the warmth of gratitude and a giving mindset.

How does change happen? I still don't entirely know, but I think it always begins with a foundation of gratitude.