Change or Normalise
Change or Normalise
These two words came to me mid-meditation some time ago.
I wasn’t searching for meaning. I was simply following my breath.
Still, the words arrived — Change or Normalise — and I felt compelled to write them down.
At the time, I didn’t interrogate them. I didn’t peel back layers or look for insight. I didn’t even care
to. I just knew there would be a time I’d return to them.
That time is now.
Here’s what I see.
Change tends to come from one of two places: inspiration or desperation. More often than not, it’s
the latter — a kind of forced responsibility, not just over our actions, but over our entire reality.
We hang on to what is familiar. We stay safe inside fear, pain, or habit — until staying becomes
impossible. Until the choice narrows: remain where we are, or move forward honestly.
This moment can be confronting.
Deeply confronting.
But the truth is simple: the only way to it, is through it.
So if we know we will one day have to walk that path — whatever that looks like for each of us —
how do we prepare?
How do we armour ourselves for what’s coming?
How do we sharpen our swords before facing the dragon?
How do we face the dark without being consumed by it?
Across countless conversations — with athletes, teammates, leaders, business owners, friends, and
myself — one thread appears again and again: the fear of the unknown.
Sometimes spoken. Often felt. Always acted out.
Until we are willing to stand at the entrance of the dragon’s lair and walk forward, we keep turning
back. We return to comfort. To familiarity. To normality. We distract ourselves, soothe ourselves,
justify ourselves — not because we’re weak, but because we’re unprepared.
Eventually, something forces the issue. A breaking point. A reckoning. A moment where the path
forward can no longer be avoided.
This is where inspiration matters.
Inspiration becomes a way of living, not a reaction.
Inspiration is not the opposite of despair — it is the preparation for it.
It is the armour. The training. The quiet work done long before the battle begins.
When we live from inspiration — from courage, responsibility, and preparation — we may find that
when the Dark Knight of Despair finally appears, he isn’t as terrifying as we imagined. The fight is
still real, but it’s cleaner. Shorter. Less destructive.
We emerge with a few bruises instead of a long, bloody war.
Change doesn’t need to be feared.
What we often fear is being underprepared.
Every moment is an opportunity to take responsibility.
Every moment is a chance to prepare for what’s coming next.
We can normalise change — not by denying its difficulty, but by meeting it ready.
From where we truly stand.
These two words came to me mid-meditation some time ago.
I wasn’t searching for meaning. I was simply following my breath.
Still, the words arrived — Change or Normalise — and I felt compelled to write them down.
At the time, I didn’t interrogate them. I didn’t peel back layers or look for insight. I didn’t even care
to. I just knew there would be a time I’d return to them.
That time is now.
Here’s what I see.
Change tends to come from one of two places: inspiration or desperation. More often than not, it’s
the latter — a kind of forced responsibility, not just over our actions, but over our entire reality.
We hang on to what is familiar. We stay safe inside fear, pain, or habit — until staying becomes
impossible. Until the choice narrows: remain where we are, or move forward honestly.
This moment can be confronting.
Deeply confronting.
But the truth is simple: the only way to it, is through it.
So if we know we will one day have to walk that path — whatever that looks like for each of us —
how do we prepare?
How do we armour ourselves for what’s coming?
How do we sharpen our swords before facing the dragon?
How do we face the dark without being consumed by it?
Across countless conversations — with athletes, teammates, leaders, business owners, friends, and
myself — one thread appears again and again: the fear of the unknown.
Sometimes spoken. Often felt. Always acted out.
Until we are willing to stand at the entrance of the dragon’s lair and walk forward, we keep turning
back. We return to comfort. To familiarity. To normality. We distract ourselves, soothe ourselves,
justify ourselves — not because we’re weak, but because we’re unprepared.
Eventually, something forces the issue. A breaking point. A reckoning. A moment where the path
forward can no longer be avoided.
This is where inspiration matters.
Inspiration becomes a way of living, not a reaction.
Inspiration is not the opposite of despair — it is the preparation for it.
It is the armour. The training. The quiet work done long before the battle begins.
When we live from inspiration — from courage, responsibility, and preparation — we may find that
when the Dark Knight of Despair finally appears, he isn’t as terrifying as we imagined. The fight is
still real, but it’s cleaner. Shorter. Less destructive.
We emerge with a few bruises instead of a long, bloody war.
Change doesn’t need to be feared.
What we often fear is being underprepared.
Every moment is an opportunity to take responsibility.
Every moment is a chance to prepare for what’s coming next.
We can normalise change — not by denying its difficulty, but by meeting it ready.
From where we truly stand.