The world and everything in it is always changing, nothing ever stays the same. This idea was first proposed by the Greek philosopher Heraclitus (535-475 BC) who believed that everything is always in a state of “flux”, constantly changing.
Heraclitus stated that there is a constant tension generated between two pairs of opposites, for example day is constantly changing into night, and then back again. It is never just one or the other.
His most famous example is that of a river, which is normally seen as a fixed and unchanging thing. He went on to say that it is impossible to step in the same river twice, for the water flowing over you each time will be different.
Why Is This Useful?
This idea of things being in a never-ending state of change is important for us to understand because in life, we and everything we know is constantly in a state of flux as well.
If you go to the gym, get really big and strong and then completely stop exercising what do you think will happen? Will you keep the muscles forever? No. You’ll lose the muscle if you don’t use it. Your health is constantly moving up and down a scale of peak health and physical fitness on one end, and poor physical health on the other.
The same can be applied to anything in life. You can’t be nice once and then that’s it, you’ll be a nice person forever. You have to keep trying and practicing, otherwise you slide back down that scale to nastiness.
You can’t learn a subject once and then expect to be a master at it forever. Technology is constantly changing, ideas are evolving and we can’t be left behind.
“If you’re not growing, you’re dying”
Tony Robbins
Never Stop Growing
We need to keep on learning, keep on growing, keep on pushing to stop ourselves slipping behind.
Never become complacent.
If you’ve experienced a little success once, it doesn’t guarantee that you’ll be a success forever. Equally, just because you may have failed once, doesn’t mean you’ll be a failure forever.
Heraclitus said that nothing ever simply “is”, you are only ever becoming something else. Make sure you choose what you want to become and continue to work at it…every…single…day.
If you enjoyed this blog, make you subscribe to get an email when a new blog is released…
Ben Caufield 