It only takes one person

-- Ruth Casey

Growth accompanies positive change; determining to risk the outcome resulting from a changed behavior or attitude will enhance our self-perceptions. We will have moved forward; in every instance our lives will be influenced by making a change that only each of us can make.

We have all dreaded the changes we knew we had to make. Perhaps even now we fear some impending changes. Where might they take us? It's difficult accepting that the outcome is not ours to control. Only the effort is ours.

The solace is that positive changes, which we know are right for us and other people in our lives, are never going to take us astray. In fact, they are necessary for the smooth path just beyond this stumbling block.

When we are troubled by circumstances in our lives, a change is called for, a change that we must initiate.

When we reflect on our recent as well as distant past, we will remember that the changes we most dreaded again and again have positively influenced our lives in untold ways. 

Frequently, we find ourselves behaving in ways that keep us stuck or embarrass us. Or we may feel deep shame for our behavior in a certain instance.

Our behavior will never totally please us.

But deciding we want to change some behavior is a first step.

Remember, imperfections are human and very acceptable.

However, changing a particular behavior, maybe deciding to take a walk every morning rather than sleeping 30 extra minutes, will change how we feel about ourselves. And a minor change such as this can have a remarkable effect on our outlook, our attitudes.

The dilemma for many of us for so long was the fear we couldn't change.

But we can. And we can help each other change, too.

Perhaps our inertia is due to our need to act "correctly" and the accompanying fear that we'll err.

Unfortunately, our fear of action reinforces itself. 

The only way to end the vicious cycle is to act - right or wrong.

The surprise in store for us is that no action we take will be truly wrong.

We will learn not only from the action itself, but from its ripples.

The response to life we make through action will gratify us; it will nourish us and will make us dread less the next situation that calls for a response.

Opportunities for action are the stepping stones to emotional maturity.

The more we "act," the more able we are to act.

And a new habit is formed.