April 28, 2014

The first person I must change is myself

I would like to show you a quote from this book. This is what a person said when he was taking his last breath:

“When I was young and free my imagination had no limits, I dreamed of changing the world. As I grew older and wiser, I discovered the world would not change, so I shortened my sights somewhat and decided to change only my country. But it, too, seemed immovable. As I grew in my twilight years, in one last desperate attempt, I settled for changing only my family, those closest to me, but alas, they would have none of it. And now as I lie on my deathbed, I suddenly realized: If I had only changed myself first, then by example I would have changed my family. From their inspiration and encouragement, I would then have been able to better my country and, who knows, I may have even changed my world”

My parents were raised in a very traditional Asian family.  They always told me to study hard to get a good job in the future. However, they NEVER actually studied hard when they were in school. I was very lazy when it came to studying. So they tried to change me and told me all kinds of stuff: “It’s good for you. You can get a good job and earn lots of money. Then you will attract women and marry a beautiful wife!..haha”. They couldn’t really influence me to change my behavior. Why you ask? It’s obvious. How can you tell someone to study hard if you (yourself) do not study hard? If only they had CHANGED themselves and tried to study hard when they were young, then they could have changed me too!

Nevertheless, my parents did change some of my behaviors, since they are role models in those aspects. For example, I used to be very lazy to exercise, and so I was really weak and often had to visit the hospital. Hence, my dad tried to change me and encourage me to do exercise regularly. He has an amazing discipline. Every morning, he wakes up around 6:00 AM to do exercise. He hardly misses a day. I looked up to him and I admired him a lot. As a result, I was gradually influenced by him, and now, I exercise almost every day and I have a very fit body. Watch this video, this guy changed the world. But the very first person he tried to change was himself! 

So my friend, before you try to change someone, you have to look at yourself first. Remember, the first person you must change is yourself!

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