Change your mind more often.
Many of us were raised on the following: stick to what you say you’re going to do, even if it’s uncomfortable. To a certain extent, I agree with this statement but another part of me has learned that this isn’t always the best course of action. Let me explain.
As a kid, school was never my forte. I was often labeled as ‘lazy’ because I didn’t manage to focus on what I was taught or I found the subject matter boring. Naturally, this continued to be the case once I got to university (how or why I decided to go to higher education is another matter). This placed a great deal of social pressure on me as I was ambitious but never felt that I could soldier through the ‘hard’ stuff. For much of my late 20s, I just started to accept that I would be mediocre my whole life.
This changed in my 30s. As I got older and got out of my comfort zone, I learned quickly that school wasn’t for me. The typical social pressures of doing well academically or going to a well known university were not going to determine who I was going to be as an adult. I started trying new things and accepting when it ‘wasn’t for me’. This philosophy that many self-help ‘gurus’ promote is one that I abide by now and it’s one that has helped me overcome my fear of not fitting in.
The reality is that society has evolved since our elders’ time. The advent of the internet and the ease with which information is available to us means that the pace at which a given situation evolves has also sped up exponentially. We must therefore also change the pace at which we react to these changes. Here’s an example.
When the global economy came to a halt last year, many businesses, especially my Mum’s brick and mortar shop, had to shut down. We found ourselves living off our savings. Rather than accepting conventional wisdom that the internet was no place for a jewelry business to succeed, I found myself obliged to do whatever I could do to help the 30-year old business survive and make it through. I bought the domaine for our company, signed up to Shopify and launched the website within two weeks. I’m not going to lie: I was reticent at first. I grew up in a business where customers came to us for advice and wanted to touch and feel the pieces they were buying. I just couldn’t see how anyone would spend large amounts of money on jewelry that they only saw in pictures. Naturally, I was wrong. What I found was that there was a market for our products online. Clients from all over the world felt a connection with our story and the ease with which they could place their order and receive it within a few hours was greater than my bias about e-commerce.
Moral of the story: I’ve learned to appreciate the importance of being ok with changing my mind. It’s helped me become a wiser person at 35 years old. By doing rather than philosophizing, I’ve learned to know what I enjoy, what makes me happy and what brings me the most benefit. Changing your mind is the key to personal growth.
