Do You Have a Pocket Full of Change?

For many of us, we don’t question why we do things we do. We just do them and then complain about the consequences of our actions. We tend to be blinded by our own ignorance and, ultimately, we don’t know what we don’t know until we know it. But the change from ignorance to knowledge (enlightenment and awareness) requires an open mind, a bit of luck, and a desire to discover what else might be out there.

There are many things in society that we do that don’t make a lot of sense. Some of them really drive me nuts.

Things like:

• Complaining about how expensive everything is but not comparative shopping for alternatives
• Complaining about the price of gas when you’re driving a gas guzzling vehicle (ie: a truck)
• Buying lottery tickets hoping that you’ll win
• Using a TFSA as a savings account
• Blaming someone else for your circumstances (ie: the government, immigrants, etc.) and not taking any self accountability.

Some people don’t want to discover what’s beyond there own bubble of knowledge. Perhaps they don’t want to find out that they’ve been wrong, and admit to themselves that there are better ways of doing things than what they could have previously thought or imagined. It can be a hard pill to swallow – sometimes the ego just wins out. But if you have a bit of curiosity and determination, you can make amazing things happen.

You might not think much of having a pocket full of change. You might dismiss the value of it. But, you can do more than you think with a small amount of change because a little bit goes a long way, in the right circumstances.

The right pocket full of change can buy you freedom

Although coins might be the most common type of change thought of here, there are other types of change you can find in your pocket. Twenty years ago, perhaps it might of been a notepad for jotting down notes and ideas.

Back in those days, if you wanted to find out anything about anything, you would have to try to find an encyclopedia at the library or wait for the newspaper to be delivered that week.

But these days, many people have a smartphone on hand. I know I do. Almost half of the world’s population has one. It is an incredible tool!

Essentially, you have the entire world’s knowledge accessible and available to you right now in your pocket. Think about that for a minute…

The vastness of human civilization’s history, knowledge, advancements and achievements all in one place. You can get information almost instantly and on pretty much anything. I find that amazing.

Your phone can be used for good, which benefits you and others (i.e: communicating, sharing, and researching ideas and goals, fighting social injustices, supporting others, learning new skills otherwise thought to be inaccessible, FIRE research, etc).

It can also be used poorly, as I believe too many of us do; to pass the time, play games, scroll down screens upon screens of social media. Or worse…

…Sharing misinformation and hate.

Instead, if you fill your pocket with ideas of change, that’s where the real magic begins.

Society Is Resistant To Change

Sir Isaac Newton – one of the most influential scientists of all time – formulated a law of physics entitled the First Law. An object at rest tends to remain at rest and an object in motion tends to stay in motion, unless acted upon by an external force. This means that whatever trajectory something or someone is on (moving or stationary), they naturally want to stay on that trajectory. They resist change, unless forced to change.

You can see this in the political landscape. You can see it where you work. You can see it with your friends, and even in yourself. We are, after all, creatures of habit. I’ve seen people comfortable in their own misery when a better alternative is only steps away.

It’s odd in a way, because change is inevitable. However, it can be very challenging for someone to do. Though it may look and seem like things don’t change very fast, the world is always changing. And if we don’t adapt and change with it, well…we start falling behind.

Fear of Something New

We especially seem to be resistant to new ideas that challenge our own personal way of thinking. Some of us are more resistant than others. (This resistance can hurt you immensely in many ways; financially, socially, personally, etc.) This is in part due to an inconvenience factor, believing it takes too much thought, effort, and and having to be generally uncomfortable to change.

Resistance can also be due to ignorance and fear. Fear of the unknown. Fear of losing your current way of life and system of beliefs. Perhaps, even perceiving change as a threat to one’s own existence. In actuality, change is more likely to be an opportunity that can be used to increase your quality of life.

Sometimes the change you thought you didn’t want, is the change that you actually needed; a blessing in disguise.