Do we resist when faced with difficult situation? Accept change; don’t resist it.

Change, resistance or the inability to adapt to change is the most common reason for the life stresses and failures, that all of us are faced with. There used to be a time when change was not as sudden as it is now. The modern lifestyles have made change so sudden that we have reached a point where change resistance has almost become like a syndrome or illness.

It reminds me of a success story about Rao Bika (founder of Bikaner); his willingness to change and not resist it. The renowned historian Gauri Shankar Ojha writes in History of Bikaner, “Prince Bika was the eldest son of Rao Jodha of Jodhpur from his queen Naurange Devi.” He continues,

One day, whilst Rao Jodha was sitting in Durbar (court), Prince Bika entered the hall and started having a private conversation with his uncle Kandhal. In lighter vain, #Jodha asked, “What conspiracy is being hatched between uncle & nephew? Are you planning to conquer a new terrain? Show me you can do it?” Prince Bika took this as a challenge to establish new kingdom, knowing fully well that he was the heir apparent to Jodhpur. He took with him his uncle Kandhal, trusted Dewan Bachhraj and others as his advisors to establish a new kingdom, at Janglu, later named as Bikaner. Bika left #Jodhpur on 30 September, 1465 AD.

On that day, Napa Sankhla the Chieftain of Janglu, the northern wild territory, was also present in Durbar. He spoke to Bika, “The uninhabited northern territory of Janglu is constantly under attack from wild Baluchi tribes. The terrain has been devastated and many Sankhlas have left for greener pastures. If you so desire, you can occupy Janglu and free us from Baluchis. Rao Jodha liked this suggestion and consented to Bika to proceed and establish new kingdom. Bachhraj, the progenitor of #Bachhawats, thus became the founding Dewan (Prime Minister) of Bikaner.

There was once a businessman, who was very successful in everything he did. He earned success in his profession, relationships, earning wealth and everything else. It was all great going until one day his company began to go into a loss. At the same time, his relations with his family began to get disturbed, because of this. As a result, his self-esteem began to fall. Life was not the same again for him. There was apparently resistance on his part to change.

This can happen to any of us, a sudden change of fortunes. Suddenly one single negative event, only a single change, can change our lives.

What should the businessman have done, to remain positive? He became, from extremely successful to unsuccessful. A change of perception you would say. And here we also throw light on the golden principle of acceptance. Acceptance follows the change of perception and also cannot take place without the perception change. It is an opposite emotion than the one which we commonly experience – that of resistance, when faced with a difficult situation.