<p>To change is to risk something, making us feel insecure. Not to change is a bigger risk, though we seldom feel that way. There is no choice but to change. People, however, cannot be motivated to change from the outside. All of our motivation comes from within.</p>
<p>What motivates people to change?
I believe change is motivated from the outside, not from within. An individuals environment-ones friends, ones family, and people one meets everyday-all necessitate a change in ones character. I am certain of this because of a drastic change I underwent about two years ago.
Throughout junior secondary school, I had always been a loner. My character was as a result of a case of extreme shyness. I was so timid that as I walked into the classroom, I felt as if a thousands eyes stared at me, questioning my every move. In order to protect myself from these eyes, I hid from my fellow classmates: when all other students were engaged in entertaining extracurricular activities, I locked myself in the library; while a classmates party was going just a few blocks from my house, I stayed at home to watch the television. My strategy worked effectively: no one knew I existed.
However, this effect did not last for long. A new student, Anita, was admitted into my school and the first person she noticed was me, hiding at the back of the class. Curious that I could be so shy, she took it upon herself to remove this veil of timidity. Consequently, she succeeded. How? She practically forced me out to of the library to relax with my other students during extracurricular events; she ensured that I attended any party I could attend. Gradually, this friendly but meddlesome attitude of hers brought out a change in me: from a recluse, I became one of the most popular students in my school. Soon, Anita stopped picking me up for parties. Instead, I picked her.
Therefore, it obvious that change can only be motivated from outside, not within because if I had stuck to myself, I would still be the loner I was.</p>