Life Change Requires Energy

Dear Reader,

I am fascinated by the question of what it takes to create profound, lasting change in one’s life. The answer is often a combination of things, and that combination varies from person to person. But there are at least a few core things that apply to anyone trying to create major life change, and one of them is:

Energy.

It takes more energy, focused well, to go from one level in life to the next – pretty much the same way it takes energy for an electron to change levels in an atom.

I’ll tell you a story that may help illustrate my point.

I lived in New York City for twenty-four years, and one of the many aspects of the Big Apple I loved were the street performers. They were often edgy, and the performer I saw as I walked down Fifth Avenue one early evening was no exception. He was a comic, and his whole routine was built on the idea that he could stop traffic.

Well. The relationship between traffic and pedestrians in New York City is adversarial at best, so he soon had a large crowd gathered. He guaranteed that he would stop the traffic on Fifth Avenue, and egged the crowd on to dare him to do it.

He stood on the edge of the sidewalk, and as he talked, traffic was piling up at a red light a little further up the avenue. The tension was building; could he really do it? How would he do it? He was fairly young, personable, articulate… but none of that goes far with a fleet of yellow cabs racing to get fares to restaurants, theaters and meetings.

Then the light changed. A wall of traffic surged down the avenue. And…

The personable young man went berserk.

He stepped into the street, stared intently at the lead cars, twisted his face in rage and began screaming at the top of his lungs “You will stop! You must stop! I command it – ” The rest of his words didn’t even make sense, but his arms were waving and he may have even foamed at the mouth.

Traffic stopped.

When the first cars came to a full stop, he held the moment – and then cheerfully stepped back onto the sidewalk, to thunderous applause. We payed up bigtime, and his hat was full when we went happily on our way, having seen the comic do something we would all secretly love to do.

See what it took to accomplish his goal? Several things, including knowing exactly what he wanted to do, focus, commitment – and a boost of energy. He willed the traffic to stop, and put his whole being into doing it.

Now back to creating life change.

When you make a significant change in your life, you are breaking old patterns and creating new ones. That takes increased energy, especially at first. Before you make the change, as you look ahead, the amount of energy required can seem huge. And, if you are a sensitive, empathic person, as many of us interested in raising consciousness tend to be, shifting your energy may actually feel aggressive, or angry – almost like foaming at the mouth.

But here’s part two of the lesson.

Increased energy is called for to create significant change, true. But once you have taken a step, even if it felt big beforehand, it doesn’t feel as big afterward. You have taken action. You have created a new normal. You are at a slightly different level, and ready to take another step. Before long, you are regularly able to do with ease the things that seemed to take so much energy at first.

Do you think the street performer got nervous and felt like he was about to do something huge every time he stepped off the curb into Fifth Avenue traffic? Maybe… especially the first few times; but after doing it several times I have a feeling it wasn’t such a big deal to him. That is the beauty of street performing – you get your routine down.

Dear reader, if you are contemplating making a significant change in your life, and wondering if you can raise your energy enough to make the shift: try breaking the action into small steps; get the support you need to assist you; and remind yourself that once you act, it may not feel like such a big deal after all.

I honor your loving heart,

John