We’ve all said it: I’m never going to do that thing or become that person.

Still, we inevitably end up doing most of those things. Some of us even end up becoming those people.

But we didn’t break a promise, or lie to ourselves or anyone else.

The significance is who we were at the time, and who we are now.

This is the power of change. The changes that happen from moment to moment, compounding over time, forming us into different people as our lives progress.

The I that will never is stating the truth. They believe this at that moment. That you, the one at that moment, will never do that thing.

But it won’t be long until life changes you. It could happen in seconds, days, or years. Perhaps regarding that specific never, you will never change. But in most cases, experience will change you. And in time, that once-made claim of never will be irrelevant to your current existence.

“Never say never” is the wrong advice.

Say never. Plant a stake in the universe stating that who you are in that moment would never do the thing or be the person.

But accept that who you are in the next instant is no longer that person.