Albert Einstein had just administered an examination to an advanced class of Physics students. As he left the building, he was followed out by one of his teaching assistants. Excuse me, sir, said the shy assistant, not quite sure how to tell the great man about his blunder. Yes? said Einstein. Um, eh, it's about the test you just handed out. Einstein waited patiently. I'm not sure that you realize it, but this is the same test you gave out last year. In fact, it's identical. Einstein paused to think for a moment, then said, Hmm, yes, it is the same test. The teaching assistant was now very agitated. What should we do, sir? A slow smile spread over Einstein's face. I don't think we need do anything. The answers have changed. And just as the answers in Physics change, so, too, do the answers to your problems change. While to all appearances you may have the same tests given to you by life, the same recurring problem, consider the possibility that the person contemplating the problem has changed. Time has passed; you've learned many things along the way. Rather than keep on trying to force the same old solutions which didn't work before, it might be time to try something else, something that emerges from the new person that you've become. The tests may be the same, but the answers have changed. |
