Change or Die

It's the oldest law of nature, yet somehow it's so one of the most difficult concepts for us to truly accept. The vast majority of people talk about how they are open to change and we talk about how great change is in public forums, but I'm afraid the truth is that when it really comes down to it most people are not willing to actually accept, embrace, or incite change.

On a biological level I can somewhat understand that. Change is a shift away from the unknown, and why shift to the unknown when the known is perfectly safe, especially in the big scary world we live in. Yet there are many instances in which as a species we have made the conscious effort to resist our instincts; in fact "civilized society" is often defined by this ability to overcome some of our basic human instincts. Even more interesting is that living organisms are constantly adapting to their surroundings, both on a biological level and a behavioral one. Nature has long since proven out the benefits of adaptation (along with diversity, redundancy, and randomness) so why is it so hard to get someone to do something different?

Let's highlight a few examples which quite frankly just piss me off:

  1. People with chronic medical problems that are willing to take a pill but not willing to even consider altering their daily habits (diet, exercise, etc.).
    • Wake up - The difficulty you have walking just might be related to the extra 80 pounds of weight your skeletal system is being forced to support
  2. People who didn't grow up with computers and simply accept that they're "never going to understand all that computer shit the kids are playing with." 
    • Wake up - Soon you won't be able to get into your house, operate a vehicle, or buy anything without a basic understanding of how to operate a computer
  3. People who want the world but aren't willing to work for it
    • Wake up - You lazy bastards, the world doesn't owe you anything. Get off your ass and go get it.
If you want a different output, start with a different input. All change in your life starts with you, period. Wake up, get angry, get motivated, get off your ass and do something about it. Or don't, it's up to you. But remember, nature said it long before I did: change or die.

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