John Lacey
A Change Would Do You Good
For as long as I can remember I’ve resisted change with every ounce of my being. Change was unknown and scary. I guess I didn’t really feel like I controlled much in life, so I was determined to keep the ’state of play’ as consistent as I could. I thought at the time it made my life easier, better. Though in hindsight I realise I wasted so much energy on trying to keep things ‘the same’ that I had created an unrealistic goal and created undue stress.
The truth is if I hadn’t dared to try new things I wouldn’t have ANY of the things that I treasure in my life. If I hadn’t one day decided to pick up CDs from my library from Chet Baker, Sophie B. Hawkins, Miles Davis, Rickie Lee Jones - can you imagine how devoid and empty my life would’ve been? If I hadn’t one day picked up a webcam from my local computer store I would’ve never had the joy of making videos and I wouldn’t have likely known any of the people who read this blog! I shudder to think how dry and boring my life would’ve been without having read the books of John A. Keel. Not to mention the things and people I would never have known as well as I do had I not decided one day to jump on a plane to Melbourne to attend the first Australian YouTube Gathering. New experiences surely enrich our lives.
The central irony of my life up until very recently was that I didn’t like where I was in my life, but still didn’t want to change. “If nothing changes,” the adage goes, “nothing changes.”
I realised there were things in my life that had outlived their usefulness but I worried about abandoning them. I worried about people judging me. I worried about the fear of the ‘unknown.’ When I discovered I could get a much better hosting arrangement for my websites at a fraction of the cost, I was excited; but I felt really guilty that I was ‘breaking up with’ my local host. “Aren’t you supposed to help the local economy?” I thought. The difference though was that in spite of that gnawing feeling I followed through and I haven’t looked back since!
I found my job unfulfilling and stressful. I decided it was so unfair that I should have to endure the conditions I was being subjected to. Though the truth was I didn’t have to put up with the status quo, I just told myself I did in order to avoid dealing with an uncertain and different situation. I resigned from my job of some five years, and you know what - the sky didn’t collapse! I wasn’t destitute. Rather, I was able to unclutter my brain of all the job related static. I was able to sit down and consider what projects I really wanted to go after. And I was able to enjoy a much better night’s sleep, too.
I had been involved with a YouTube Channel called FiveAwesomeJs for a few weeks when I became really honest with myself and decided I didn’t want to continue. There was no malice behind this decision and I love that the experience has brought me closer to some genuinely wonderful people, but I felt it wasn’t the best use of my time.
The lesson to be learnt here, surely, is of the importance of being flexible in the way you tackle life. Try new things - and if they’re not for you, try more new things! While you continue to learn and experience you can continue to grow as a human being. So my mantra for today is simply: I am open to change
Be flexible… Be yourself… Be awesome. Life is an incredible journey, don’t be afraid to change and roll with the punches. A former colleague always said, “Life is not a journey that is meant to lead to death being well rested, but rather showing up at death’s door proclaiming, ‘Whoa, what a ride!’”