Life is constant. Well, life is constantly changing. We like to think of it as stable but we are sitting on a spinning ball racing around a universe of spinning balls. We are in motion.
The wisdom to expect change is ancient but newly discovered by each generation. Here’s the phrase:
This too will pass.
The origin of this advice dates back to medieval Persia. But this poetic reframe has been adopted and adapted by many people over the years. Abraham Lincoln used the adage in a speech before he was President. Columnist Ann Landers noted
Expect trouble as an inevitable part of life and repeat to yourself, the most comforting words of all; This, too, shall pass.
Singer Josh Groban uses the phrase when things aren’t going well.
When I feel confused or depressed, I remember back to junior high and I silently repeat, ‘This, too, shall pass.
But the wisdom is not only that trouble passes but so does fame, wealth and position. The Happy Monk (HappyMonk.net) says:
At a deeper level, if we can come to realization that life is impermanent, the better off we will be. We have to flow with life, adjust to change or circumstances, and realize that, nothing that I have in this world is a guarantee.
Author and advocate, Zainab Salbi declares:
“Everything can be taken from you in a second, but the human spirit is so strong. War can teach you so much about evil, and so much about good.”
Novelist Dick Francis gives one of his heroes in Whip Hand this line:
I guessed life was like that. You gained and you lost, and if you saved anything from the ruins, even if only a shred of self-respect, it was enough to take you through the next bit.”
Getting through the next bit is what it’s all about. Parents often worry about their stubborn children but my Mother would always reassure them that what they called stubbornness now would later be called stick-to-it-iveism. Life is about endurance.
Businessman Wayne Chirisa notes that “Endurance precedes success.” It’s not only true of business. Endurance plays a role in the development of experts in every knowledge domain.
Here is my summary of all the research on what experts do and how they became experts:
Start young and persevere.
It’s probably too late for you to start young but it is not too late to persevere. You can still accomplish great things.
A good place to begin is to embrace change. Life will change whether you ignore it, fear it, resist it or accept it. Squeeze the present and hug the future.