What would Sisyphus have to say about change?

Hey there 👋🏻

I have been thinking about change lately. Not the Instagram-able kind, not the “look how far I have come” kind — but the quieter, lonelier mutations of self. The invisible shifts in identity, the ones that do not make it to your resume, your Hinge profile, or even your group chat.

And somehow, Sisyphus came to mind. Not as a punishment, but as a parable.

Because change is not always a phoenix. Sometimes it is a boulder.

Sisyphus, Interrupted

Imagine if Sisyphus stopped halfway up the mountain and asked himself:

“Is this the same rock as yesterday?“

He would realize: No, not quite.

It is chipped differently. His hands are calloused differently. The slope might be slicker this morning, or the air a little thinner. And perhaps, the man who began this climb is not the one pushing now.

Change, then, is less about swapping rocks and more about noticing the erosion… of self, of resistance, of assumptions. The task remains but you do not. Not really.

So, if Sisyphus could speak, I imagine he would say:

And maybe that’s the point.

Repetition is Not Stagnation

We confuse sameness with stasis. We say: “I am stuck in the same cycle”

But cycles are deceptive. You are never stepping into the same river, even if the bend looks familiar.

Growth is not always vertical. Sometimes it is a spiral (I have a similar theory about human evolution). A return with some sort of difference.

Like when you revisit an old city and the streets remember you, but you do not walk them the same. Or, when you re-read a book you loved at 20, only to find a different book waiting for your 30-year-old eyes.

Sisyphus’ punishment was not repetition. It was conscious repetition — the brutality of effort without arrival.

But what if the tragedy flips? What if the rock was never the obstacle? What if it was the mirror?

The Boulder is the Teacher

I once believed change had to look like escape. New Jobs, new cities, and new people.

Now I am not so sure.

Real change, the kind that rewires your nervous system and rebuilds your internal architecture, often happens mid-push when you have been doing the same thing long enough to finally see it differently.

The problem is not that you have been pushing the same boulder.

The problem is expecting the mountain to notice.

Change is not about the world rewarding you. It is about waking up one day, mid-strain, and realizing you no longer hate the climb. That you are stronger. Or more patient. Or less invested in reaching the summit.

That you have built something under the weight. Call it resilience, grace, muscle memory of the soul.

So, What would Sisyphus say?

He would probably laugh. Then he would say:

And then, quietly, he would get back to pushing.

Why this newsletter?

Because I needed a space that did not ask me to hustle, perform, or sell.

Just one that let me think out loud — clearly, calmly, intentionally.

If you are like me, you probably get tired of content that is all noise and no depth. This is my attempt to offer something quieter. More reflective. Maybe even useful.

Thanks for being here. Feel free to reply and tell me where you are reading from, or what has been on your mind lately.

Catch you in the next stop.

Warmly,
Sagar