Some Change.....

Some change comes down for the better
You feel it move
Then some come around like the weather
You take that in too

But like some change in your pocket
Sometimes it seems to be too little too late
I guess it's time to break out a few pesos
Cause I'm getting to where I like the view
And if you're feeling lucky and you ain't just passing through
You might change some too
- taken from Some Change by Boz Scaggs

Change--it's one of my favorite topics. It's been on my mind and of other peoples' minds a lot lately. We've recently entered into a new year, and with the new year comes resolutions and a renewed commitment to be a better person. The country has recently elected a new president, and most people are looking to this individual to bring about change to the country--namely in the form of economic improvement.

Two years ago I went to a lecture on improving one's communication skills and the benefits that are reaped from such improvements. About fifteen minutes into the material, the speaker said, People don't change." On a gut level I disagreed with the man's statement. I believe that all human beings are capable of change. In terms of a practical matter though, people rarely change unless they are in a great deal of pain, or there is an inordinate amount of incentive involved.

One of the things that I read on Gordon Byrn's blog was a statement to this effect: People rarely have enough influence to individually make a significant impact on any situation. How much impact will President Obama have on this country? Hard to say. He alone cannot solve the economic troubles of this country. The effects of two decades plus of "over leveraging" are being dealt with. The liquidity being injected into the economy by TARP is the equivalent of throwing ping pong ball at an elephant. Much like the person in the aforementioned song, the change that we have right now is too little, too late.

On the individual level, I think that all any individual person can do is clean up there personal balance sheet, have some blood money in the bank, and keep moving forward. As the economy deleverages there will be some bargains to be had.

In terms of my own life I am not in the middle of change of paradigm, but I am trying to take off some of the dead weight I put on over the holidays as well as improve my flexibility. I've committed myself to losing a pound a week for the next ten weeks, and practicing yoga twice a week indefinitely. As I get older flexibility will become more and more important. From what I have seen there aren't a lot of yogis and yoginis out there with walkers or wheel chairs.

On a practical note, as we all enter the Obama era and get ready to work through what looks to be a really, really bad recession, my instinct keeps telling me one thing: make your individual change small, but be consistent with working through that change. Human beings aren't wired to accept change easily, in fact we are wired to go with what has worked before as this is what has kept us alive. If you want to see change in your life you have to treat it just like it's spare change--some dimes here, and a quarter or two there, and you suddenly have a dollar. Yes, this analogy might be obvious, but it's the Truth.

Namaste