Many people are involved in a debate of whether it’s more useful to change the world or ourselves in the first place. During childhood years till developing into an adult, we often get inspired by heroic stories of famous dignitaries or self-imagining being a successful politician that creates a “Utopia” in perfection. Perspectives like “don’t merely waste your lifetime, contribute something significant to the world” appear in people’s mind, where they seek for the ultimate goal of “making the world a better place”. On the contrary, the majority of people choose to change themselves and remain their entire focus on close individuals around them, such as their families, because they believe that changing the world is impossible. Being in charge of yourself might be viewed as a commoner, but actually, being a precious ordinary isn’t easy either, it’s only easier compared to changing the world. In fact, changing yourself, or digging deep internally is the initial step of influencing others. Same thing goes with love and respect. In order to love or respect everyone, you need to respect and show affection toward yourself at the outset. The widely circulated quote of “You can't change the world if you don't change yourself first.” states that changing the world might seem an insurmountable task, but once you start changing your mentality, inner peace, and yourself, anything might be possible.
Personal development acts as a crucial stage in changing ourselves, since it expands self-knowledge, develops new skills, and helps explore our potential. It is futile trying to change conditions out there because life is constantly changing. According to the American author and speaker John C. Maxwell, “Most people want to change the world to improve their lives, but the world they need to change first is the one inside themselves.” The world in our control stays within ourselves, which highlights how imperative is self-awareness, in other words, understanding yourself through different aspects. Before analyzing global problems, identify your own strengths and weaknesses whilst setting reachable goals for self-improvement. Once you commence on changing those minor habits, continue on drawing connections with self-optimization. For example, constantly checking on social media often leaves people unconcentrated and overdrawn. Set a time limit for yourself daily and focus on something unrelated, like working on personal hobbies. Perhaps you struggle with personal relationships, careers, or wealth; because of these annoyances, people tend to look back negatively, rather than looking forward on the bright side. According to therapist Christina Schultz, “self-awareness can help you appreciate the need for change and motivate you to do something different.”
Changing ourselves not only includes improving our abilities, but also self acceptance and adaptation. We often spend too much time worrying on inexorable social issues that we lose patience toward ourselves, and we face discouragement based on comparison with other people. How are you going to change the world if you lack confidence? Developing and accepting yourself seems more undemanding, compared with improving society globally. For instance, embracing a growth mindset in purpose for seeking growth advances our ability to adapt and overcome. Change yourself both mentally and emotionally, which means look forward to optimism and regard setbacks as temporary. According to Aaron Nichols, “challenge rigid thought patterns and explore alternative perspectives”, which means to embrace curiosity and open-mindedness to foster adaptability in your thinking. When our thinking gets toward an advanced level, we often accept immutable, often negative things about the world, and we just let it go. Things get more detailed if it begins in a small area (ourselves), learning to adapt to the world and reflect on ourselves is more effective than changing the world by individuals.
The world often gets changed through pragmatic individuality, where everyone upgrade their model of reality by changing themselves, later on producing a “ripple-effect”. Changing ourselves doesn’t merely benefit individuals, but also surrounding environments. The world simply has an extravagant amount drawbacks, which makes people get in perturbation. How much brighter would the world be if we each took responsibility for our own corner of it, instead of feeling hopeless? According to Aaron Nichols, “Strive to be the best version of yourself. The world doesn’t need your misery and nihilism. It doesn’t need you to try to save the whole thing.” According to self-help author Dr. Wayne Dyer, who said: “If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change.” Change must first take place from within and has a ripple effect on the lives of others, which may gather momentum to affect the whole humanity. In particular, imagine 100 people who constantly complain about the state of the world. One day they collectively decide they’ve had enough and undertake personal development to change their lives. Within months, they have stopped whining and are now open to embracing life instead of being mired in their problems. The society would maintain in harmony and love.
Comparing to changing the world, self reformation appears to be relatively easier to maintain and succeed on. Everyone has an opinion on what is wrong with the world, yet few will do the work to improve their own lives. Life is short, with no time to waste, we need to focus within ourselves first in order to achieve bigger value orientations. In fact, changing yourself could take your entire life, because personal development is a lengthy activity. Sometimes when you can’t alter the environment, self-adaptation and acceptance comes in to great use. Instead of doing “heroic acts” by changing the world, which is impossible for individuals, do something attainable with reality. Upgrading your model of reality to coincide with new awareness really helps enhance quality of life while relieving pressure. It’s certainly a huge ambition to change the world, but initially, we should develop ourselves. Strive for your best self, identify your authentic self. When every member of community achieves higher realm, that’s when the world would change in full speed.
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