As this year comes to a close…I am reflecting on the events of this year. The biggest challenge for me as well as for some of my loved ones has been “Change.” For me 2018 has been a year of Transformation and Transition which comes in all different forms:
A new job or possibly added responsibilities to the current job
One’s health
Where a person lives
The status of a relationship; from single to married or visa versa from married to suddenly single!
An assignment at work
One’s attitude that was once sunny and now is not.
Why is change so hard for most of us? Why do we resist the natural flow and ebb of the season of transformation? Why do some of us try to dig our heals into the ground as though we are burrowing a cemented place where we stand!
Change is hard, no doubt about it. If you are someone who does not like change…its a challenge to keep up with all the revisions.
Our devices update every few weeks, we get junk mail updating about a revision in privacy policies with our credit cards, etc. Workplaces send hundreds of emails about meetings, changes in policy, etc. The world is ever evolving, in constant motion…Nothing stands still anymore.
I think people who resist may be trying to “process” the change about to take place. How will it affect them? Changing can mean a loss of control of natural order of things. What we thought was our routine, no longer is. Now we have a new routine, and one provided to us, not of our making. Does procrastination help prepare a person for whats coming or buy time?
I have learned to accept change as a part of life. I see it as an opportunity, not a consequence or a penance. I see it as a chance to try something new. Something that may go horribly wrong or something that may be the best thing I ever tried…I won’t know until I transform my thinking by trying something new and different. I like to keep things fresh, interesting, innovative and new.
How can a person who resists change get better at it? Is that person fearful of the change? Write a Pros and Cons List to see all the possibilities of the impending change and see what it is about the change that concerns the person. I will even do Worst Case scenarios to help myself role play “how bad could it be?” Sometimes when everything has been asked, lists have been made, fears have been addressed, the last thing I do is “give it up to God”. I can try to be a Lone Wolf and thats when change can get overwhelming.
I hope for anyone who has an upcoming Change taking place in their lives that they are concerned about they will take a few minutes to reflect. Change can be like that window you open on the first warm sun drenched spring day that lets light and fresh air into an otherwise stuffy dark space. Change is scary and hard, inevitable. What is the alternative to not changing…staying put, not moving forward. What would that look like? Imagine the small child that does not want to leave home and mom to go to preschool for the first time. What if that small child did not transition…how does growth happen unless we are pushed outside our comfort zones. May everyone’s 2019 be wonderful as we are getting ready to close out 2018 and welcome in the New Year!
“Learn, Adapt, Adjust…”
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