I saw a web site recently which belongs to someone I know. It’s a site which promises personal development and change. It was a very nice site which shows a degree of promise however, the thing that gave me pause for thought was the logo they had chosen to 'sum up' their transformation ethic.
It was a Chameleon.
(Now, I know about chameleons. A good few years ago, I had an old glass aquarium with some sand, rocks and sticks in there with a heat lamp on top. It was in the corner of one of my rooms and when people asked me what was in it, I would tell them it was a very rare Patagonian chameleon - THE best sort for their ability for natural camouflage. They would go over and stare and stare and stare at it. I discovered that as soon as I told folk "only idiots can’t see it" - EVERYONE started to tell me how nice it was. )
But I am digressing. Back to my point of using this lizard as a symbol of transformation. A chameleon at that. It struck me as a very odd choice of character to represent personal change.
Now, I know what you are saying "but Chameleons DO change - its a truly fitting symbol"...But think again.........even though the popular conception of our little cold blooded friend is one of change and transformation - I mean the Chameleon, not my friend who's site it is - the truth is Chameleons DON'T change.
They merely 'fit in'. They change to fit their surroundings. As a response to external stimuli. They 'pretend'.
Chameleons are fakes.
They can change their outside appearance to protect themselves or to gain advantage ( like...er...not getting eaten by other creatures....or in order to sneak up up on their prey at lunchtime...) but that's not 'transformation' - its acting. They might as well as chosen a bloody hermit crab as his logo - they change too, right?
So many people make that rudimentary error. They mistake a superficial alteration as 'change'. Change their hair style and they think they are 'born again'.
Personal transformation is a life's work. (In fact, it IS your life's work whether you know it or not!) It is always a 'work in progress'.
Every morning we wake up with the choice to choose our 'tude. To direct our energies where we want. To focus our thoughts and ultimately, our destiny.
However, long term success is not the result of pretending.
Simply changing our shade so others think we are 'OK'? This is just a superficial self-delusion.
(That’s not to say that playing 'fake it till ya make it' has not got a place in changing our behaviours. Often, 'acting as if' is a brilliant jumping off place to start from but if that is all you have as a strategy for change - just blending so you can fit in with others....well, its soon going to ring hollow. )
Real transformation is a result of deep insight in which you are 'inside'.
Insight is the result of action. Exploration, Meditation, Self Examination. Self Knowledge. Action is predicated on Behaviour. Behaviour is an external expression of your core beliefs.
Much in the same was as you can take a can of gold aerosol paint and go paint your lawn gold - it might look pretty for a while but very soon the grasses 'true nature' will shine right through, so too will false behaviours fall by the wayside when your 'true nature' expresses itself. You will act the way your beliefs dictate that you will.
If you want lasting change, it’s your core beliefs that need shifting. Don't worry; your behaviours will fall into line real quick after that.
I had a budgie once called Tishhy and it could do a fantastic 'dog' impression. Sounded amazing, even better than the real thing. But, even though I was very young I never got confused. I knew it was a budgie. If a dog is born in a stable, it does not make it a horse. Same thing. Just 'acting in a different way' does not mean one has changed.
As a model for transformation, don't think Chameleon. Think lowly Caterpillar to beautiful Butterfly........or if you have a more mystical bent, think Griffin to Phoenix.Now there's a model of success.
The Phoenix Transformation.....something worthy of emulation.
"Consider the Chameleon, he colours himself and his opinions by the company he's in.
In Belfast, he's an Orangeman, the shade is quite ephemeral, directly he moves south, it fades, In Dublin, look: He's emerald.
In church on Sunday he turns gold, and sings the 'love thy neighbour' hymn.
Monday he's black and buys a stick, the better to belabour him.
He says; 'All men are equal' when in Trinidad or Malibar,But in his green in Paddington, he shouts; 'We'll keep the colour bar'.
This parti-coloured fellow, you'll find that underneath, is yellow.
With Tories blue, with reds vermilion, and chequered when he meets MacMillian.
That's the Chameleon.
If that Chameleon were me, I'd be ashamed to sham.
Each night, all white between the sheets, I'd wonder who I am."
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