Fritz Perls on change

… deliberate change never, never, never functions. As soons as you say, “I want to change” — make a program — a counter-force is created that prevents you from change. Changes are taking place by themselves. If you go deeper into what you are, if you accept what is here, then a change automatically occurs by itself. This is the paradox of change.¹

Any deliberate change does not work. Change takes place by itself if you take back, assimilate, whatever is available.²

You never overcome by resisting it. You only can overcome anything by going deeper into it. … Whatever it is, if you go deeply enough into it, then it will disappear; it will be assimilated.³

Notes:
¹ Frederick S. Perls, Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, (Bantam Books, 1969), p. 193.
² Ibid., p. 203.
³ Ibid., p. 230.

Update 2022-09-15: Text converted to blocks.