Change is a process, not an event

"Most people overestimate what they can achieve in a year,
and underestimate what they can achieve in ten."
- Anthony Robbins (I think)

There was a time when thinking about change, tended to mostly bring two
images to my mind.  Firstly, the way I wanted things to be, and secondly,
the way things were now.  Most of the time, these two pictures were so far
removed from each other, that after a few weeks of trying to think of how
to make the changes I wanted in my life, I would give up.

That was until I discovered the power of growth, or process, if you prefer a
less organic term.  I began to realize that between the way things are
today, and the way things will be in the future, there was effectively an
infinite amount of images.  Just like we haven't yet learnt to beam
ourselves from one place to the other, like Mr. Scott and co., so we
cannot expect our lives to simply suddenly change.  

Yes, it could happen that you win the Lotto, or you inherit a fortune, or
something like that.  But it is the rare exception.  You don't have to be a
master statistician to realize that these things happen to a very small
minority of people.

The way most of us change our lives, is through incremental changes.

Realizing this, means that I can begin to create a process of
systematically changing myself and my environment, and in this way, step
by step, getting closer and closer to what I want.

And here is one of the nuggets of happiness that I discovered along the
way as I started practicing this:

Growing, is one of the most fulfilling experiences we can ever go
through.

Our environments are influenced by what we do to them.  The things we
say, and the things we do, impact our environment.  The things we say
and do, are the results of the thoughts we think.  The thoughts we think
are the result of who we are, and who we are is a combination of who we
see ourselves to be, who we think others see us to be, and who we
believe we can become.

So I'd begun to realize that the process of improving anything in my
environment, e.g. my work, my financial situation, my relationships with
people - whatever I want to change - this process must start with a
process of a change inside of me.  And this process of self-improvement,
is what I like to call growth.  I've discovered that growing yourself into the
type of person that can solve the problem, is a much more satisfying way
to live, than to keep focusing on the problem.  

I've discovered that the process of growing into the person I need to be to
achieve certain goals, is more enjoyable than the event of eventually
achieving the goal.  This is a very significant discovery, because most of
our lives consist not of moments of achievements, but of getting to the
moments of achievements.  

Learning to enjoy the process, means a much larger part of your life is
actually enjoyable.  If you are hating every moment of the process of
trying to achieve some goal, and you think that once you "get there," then
life will be better, you are likely to be disappointed.  
Some More Thoughts
on Change