19 quotes about change and why it's important

Today I’m exploring quotes about change.

One of the most fundamental human needs is the need for certainty. We all need certainty because we need to feel secure.

As a species, human beings are programmed to ensure we survive. If we don’t feel secure, then we are constantly on our guard, which drains our energy.

That’s why change can be an uncomfortable experience because it makes us feel insecure, and feeling insecure means we can’t relax.

Most of us can feel uncomfortable with change, at least to some degree, and that’s perfectly natural when you think about it.

However, change is important.

Through change comes opportunity, and if we can embrace change, then opportunity can be ours for the taking.

Most people tend to be slow in their response to change because it’s such an uncomfortable experience. However, if we respond quickly, we can grasp those opportunities just waiting for the fleet-footed.

Think about this: everything we take for granted today once didn’t exist.

When change is ignored:

A good example of things that once didn’t exist would be computers. Today, most households have several of them in the form of desktops, laptops, tablets, and smartphones.

Certainly, this is the situation in my home, and I’m sure that’s true in your home too, dear reader.

However, as recently as 1943, Thomas Watson, then chairman of IBM, said, “I think there’s a world market for maybe five computers.”

Well, there are more than five computers in my home alone, and there will be billions more around the world.

As recently as 1977, Ken Olson, then president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC), the leading supplier of minicomputers at the time, said, “There’s no reason for any individual to have a computer in his home.”

We’re lucky that neither Bill Gates nor Steve Jobs listened to those gentlemen.

However, in business terms, these examples are even more significant.

Failure to recognize the changing nature of the computer market had almost catastrophic consequences for IBM as a business.

They did manage to adapt eventually, but not before their business went through a major wobble and at one point looked like it might even fold completely.

And where is Digital Equipment Corporation (DEC) now? It disappeared long ago and is now nothing more than a footnote in the history of digital technology.

So my message to you today, dear reader, is this:

You ignore change at your peril.

Embrace change:

It’s better to embrace change, however uncomfortable it may feel, and be ready to grab those opportunities as they come along.

The most successful people in business are adept at exploiting opportunities brought about by change.

Change is synonymous with opportunity. It’s that simple.

Here are 19 inspirational quotes about change to help you reflect on what it means and why it’s important.

Quotes about change (1-10):

Change before you have to. ~Jack Welch
Intelligence is the ability to adapt to change. ~Stephen Hawking
To improve is to change; to be perfect is to change often. ~Winston Churchill
If you do not change direction, you may end up where you are heading. ~Lao Tzu
If you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change. ~Wayne Dyer
The first step toward change is awareness. The second step is acceptance. ~Nathaniel Branden
The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance. ~Alan Watts
Change is the law of life. And those who look only to the past or present are certain to miss the future. ~John F. Kennedy
Change will not come if we wait for some other person or some other time. We are the ones we’ve been waiting for. We are the change that we seek. ~Barack Obama
God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference. ~Reinhold Niebuhr

Quotes about change (11-19):

There is nothing so stable as change. ~Bob Dylan
There is nothing permanent except change. ~Heraclitus
Only the wisest and stupidest of men never change. ~Confucius
You must be the change you wish to see in the world. ~Mahatma Gandhi
Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself. ~Leo Tolstoy
The curious paradox is that when I accept myself just as I am, then I can change. ~Carl Rogers
They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself. ~Andy Warhol
You must take personal responsibility. You cannot change the circumstances, the seasons, or the wind, but you can change yourself. That is something you have charge of. ~Jim Rohn
It is change, continuing change, inevitable change that is the dominant factor in society today. No sensible decision can be made any longer without taking into account, not only the world as it is but the world as it will be. ~Isaac Asimov

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19 quotes about change and why it’s important