On Change And Changing

Sixty years ago, 1962, acclaimed author James Baldwin penned an essay in the New York Times Book Review titled “As Much Truth As One Can Bear.” The essay presents Baldwin’s thoughts about contemporary authors’ paramount task in shaping today’s society. Baldwin concludes:

“Not everything that is faced can be changed; but nothing can be changed until it is faced.”

It is a good reminder (and a beautiful piece of writing) that the most important thing to do is to do it.

I am confident most, if not all of us, have found ourselves standing in the face of the adversary and, instead of facing it, sought the easier path of not doing anything. Maybe we have complained about something being wrong, broken, or simply badly done — and might have even had ideas to fix it. Alas, we didn’t do it. Maybe we have thought about a business idea, project, or improvement in our firm — but chose to go the path of lesser resistance by ignoring it.

Certainly, I have done so many times.

The ugly truth is, of course, that nothing will ever change if we don’t change it. The first step of any journey is to, well, take the first step.

Thus — why not make today your first day of that journey? What better way to end the year than with a beginning?