“I used to smoke five packs of cigarettes a day. It was the hardest thing to put them away. I drank four or five bottles of wine. I kept a glass in my hand all the time. Breaking those habits was hard to do, but nothing prepared me for the changes that you put me through! Tryin’ to live my life without you, babe. It’s the hardest thing I’ll ever do.”
– Lyric from Bob Seger’s “Tryin’ to Live My Life Without You”
Breaking habits is hard to do. And change, productive change, is all about breaking old habits.
Difference makers don’t let others prescribe their habits, or the changes they go through, but that’s not to say we have to navigate change on our own.
There are times that someone in our circle ought to be able to prescribe — or at the very least suggest — some changes. Perhaps changes in perspective, or changes in approach.
And, there are times when those in our inner circle are obligated to call for changes.
But, no one can put us through changes that we don’t want to go through. Even if they have “the authority” to — think teachers, bosses, parents, etc — the change will only stick when we want it to, and when we commit to it.
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