8 September 2020 — THE DIFFICULTY IS NOT SO MUCH IN DEVELOPING NEW IDEAS BUT IN ESCAPING FROM OLD ONES (John Maynard Keynes)

John Maynard Keynes (5 june 1883–21 April 1946) was a British economist whose ideas fundamentally change the theory and practice of macro=economics and the economic policies of governments.

He left many sayings including the blog title which appeals to me because I feel that only too often when I feel I am stepping into the new I find myself thinking about what I am leaving behind and evaluating the new ideas from my past way of thinking and believing.

The main problem here is identifying who I believe myself to be with my ideas and with what I generally think — the beliefs and ideas with which the ego self identifies.

When we are unable to step outside of our old ideas because we find safety in our identification with them, we are, of course, preventing ourselves from growing and adapting to the new ideas which life is constantly throwing at us in these days of social media.

The key, of course, is the ability to evaluate our old ideas against the new ones and to not cling to the OLD out of safety but not to displace the OLD with the NEW without due consideration.

I would suggest that PERSEVERANCE is often necessary when we find that we need to adapt to changes in our lives. Perseverance in living with unsettledness, with insecurity and with doubt until the day dawns when we intuitively know in which direction we need to go, which is most likely to be letting go of the old ideas and embracing the new ideas.