If there is one thing we can always count on to remain the same today as it was yesterday, it is that things will be different tomorrow. Change is a word that not welcomed amid pleasant circumstances, but desperately pleaded for in difficult times. There is rarely unanimous agreement in the determination of a need for change, because the word comes with fear of discomfort and with questions about the realities that change will bring. At an individual level, however, change is a persistent necessity. We cannot personally control every change that happens in the world, but we can control every change that happens to ourselves.

We Always Need Change
Every good person is never perfect, but ever better than before. It is wrong to presume that because we have become better now than we have been in the past that are not in need of any changes today. There is a lesson for each of us in the words of Benjamin Franklin, “When you’re finished changing, you’re finished.” It is wonderful to improve ourselves in character and honorability, but it is far too easy to believe in the present that we have somehow escaped from the boundaries of our fallibility. This is the great mistake we make as individuals in the consideration of the present condition of character. It is prudent and desirable to be fond of who we are, and to be proud of what we have overcome in life to be who we are now, but it is negates every improvement we have made in ourselves to believe that we have achieved the pinnacle of our potential and that we cannot still be refined and improved. It is only by ignorance and arrogance that we can believe that there is a single day in life when we are not in need of change.

Change for the Better
It is important to know whether our changes are for the better or worse. In the desire to improve ourselves, we are compelled to make changes that improve the quality of our character. It is impossible to be perfect in every choice we make, but with conscience as our guide, and with the intention of doing good to others, our understanding of all that is right and wrong can lead us in an overall direction of improvement. We are always in need of change in some way, but that does not mean that we are always in need of change in every way. While changes that improve our character are always desirable, the world gives us an undeniable example that not every change is a change for the better. In order to change ourselves for the better, we need to see the errors of our ways, but it is equally important to recognize our positive attributes, and to keep them from changing for the worse.

Thoughts and Deeds
Changing for the better means that we must continuously evaluate our thoughts for the presence of all that is both good and bad. The changes we need to make in our lives should never be based on our actions alone, for our deeds are but symptoms of our thoughts. In every case where our deeds go awry, there is some manner of our thinking that must be addressed to resolve the problem. It is foolish to think that we can change ourselves for the better merely by changing our behaviors alone. Behavior is not the root of corruption, but the fruit only. Removing only the fruit may give the tree the appearance of health, but that which produces the fruit lies within, and remains not only to produce bad fruit again, but also to threaten the health of the entire tree.

Changing Our Thoughts
Change is an essential aspect of our lives that affects us, not only from time to time, but also from day to day. Change is not only needed in the major flaws of our lives that are clearly seen by others, but also in the minute and seemingly inconsequential aspects of our daily lives that affect both ourselves and others. It is clearly advantageous to avoid actions such as murder and drug addiction, but it is similarly important to focus on more subtle thoughts and actions that lead us to speak harshly to our families or that cause us to spend countless hours in activities that separate us from our families and become addictions in themselves. The degree of change needed to make us better people goes far beyond the examples given here, but the need of utmost significance is that we should accept only the thoughts that make us what we want to be within our hearts, as well as what we want to be to others.

Changing Others by Changing Ourselves
Change is an aspect of our lives for which we should devote our most vigorous and dutiful attention. The world will always change around us, and we may do what we can to make it change for the better, but the most important changes that we can make in life are those that we make within ourselves. When we see actions in others that we know are wrong, we may ask them to change, and hope that they will, but ultimately the most effective way to change others is by changing ourselves. When finding fault in others, we should always look to ourselves and seek out our own imperfections first. Perhaps the changes we wish for in others are changes we can make in ourselves. We should never assume that others should change, while we remain the same. We are always in need of change of some kind, and sometimes the changes we make in our hearts and minds are the very influences of change that will cause others to change too.

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Family Challenges and Change: The world's most important changes are made in the home.

Learning Something New Every Day: Learning something daily that is beneficial to our lives is a possibility, but it is not guaranteed without a conscious effort on our part.

Controlling Thoughts: Mastering our Minds and Thoughts: We evaluate ourselves based on things we do, finding joy and regret in actions, while scarcely noticing that the driving force behind them is our thoughts.

Fighting Technology for Family Time: Gadgets and gizmos available today are truly amazing, but have they really simplified our lives or allowed us to pay more attention to anything that really matters to us, like our families for instance?

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