Renewal
Some businessmen talk of the need for "repotting". They argue that, after some period of time, people become stale in their jobs and that they should find something new and, implicitly, more exciting. Putting aside issues of opportunity and commitment, energy and recognition of the issue, repotting is probably a good idea. It helps deal with issues of boredom, of "burning out", of the extreme fatigue that arises from doing the same thing over and over again for some period of time. I'm confident that the period varies among various people and situations, that some people are able to avoid the issues while remaining in place, that others didn't depend on a job to define themselves in the first place so that no repotting is needed. However, when we find ourselves troubled by repetition, when we cease to enjoy our jobs, when our very performance of the job is affected by feelings of oppression and unpleasantness, it's probably time to seek other pastures. (Note that I don't use the term "greener" pastures; those who look for greener pastures usually don't find them and, indeed, often make a series of unproductive moves only to find themselves in the same place.)
A recent horoscope dealt with this issue in the context of our personal lives. It said that just as businesses that don't renew themselves are doomed to die, so we must renew ourselves in our personal lives. It advised us to "look to bring new colors into your life". This advice leads to the same issues as repotting in a business context. It takes a lot of energy to try to change our lives and it takes an extreme discontent to enable us to risk change. Most of us achieve some level of comfort where we sit and change may bring discomfort. Repetition can be safe, opportunities to make profound changes come rarely and, we must recognize, in any change of situation, we'll still be there. That is, real change needs a change in our hearts and minds and fundamental change is a lot more difficult than simply changing our surroundings.
If you're dissatisfied with something in your life, by all means try to change it and make things better. If changing jobs, apartments, groups of friends, hobbies or whatever will make you feel better, make the change. But recognize that change for change's sake is rarely useful. In order for these superficial changes to do any good, we have to change ourselves. A change of scene may make it easier to change but it's not enough. We must change our attitudes, be optimistic and, most importantly, understand that changes can only help if the changes are within ourselves. And remember that we can't look to others to make these changes for us. In fact, the ability to be comfortable alone may be an important part of renewal. The notion of alone in a crowd has a flip side: We can feel surrounded with good feelings when alone so long as we have the basic self-respect and strength to see it.
Change when necessary but be sure you recognize the deeper changes that are usually necessary to make things better.
7-18-05
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