“Still don’t know what I was waiting for, and my time was running wild”
- lyrics from “Changes” by David Bowie
A lot of people are afraid of change. Most people despise change. Some people simply won’t change.
The very word change sends shivers down most of our spines. It kindles feelings of uncertainty and creates visions of worlds with which we have no comfort.
Personally, I think change has a bad rap.
Really, if we could comprehend what change represents and considered the alternative, I think a lot more of us would be less concerned with who moved our cheese, and more engaged in living a passionate, ever-expanding life.
Change is actually good, because change is growth. And folks, if you’re not growing…you’re dying.
Think of a rose bush. The rose bush has two modes: growth mode and death mode. In growth mode, it is constantly changing…more buds, different blooms, alternate shades of green, more and more leaves, thorns, etc. In death mode it simply gets old, stops blooming, turns brown, withers up, and dies. There are varying degrees within each separate mode, but I think you get the point.
Although the lively and beautiful rose bush may seem constant and even “comfortable” in growth mode, the truth is that the bush is also simultaneously changing.
I mean, between you and I, doesn’t change sound a heck of a lot better than death? Well, assuming your answer was yes, that’s exactly the way you need to think of it!
When presented with the opportunity to change, you must consider that it is also an opportunity for you to grow. It may not be obvious, and it almost always requires you to change or broaden your perspective, but my suggestion to you is that you embrace it with all of your heart.
At the office it may be a chance to become more specialized or to learn something new about your business or career. In your personal life, it is almost always the way to become better within your current role as dad or mom, brother or sister, friend, coach, teacher or neighbor and to develop into a stronger and more complete person.
Change is good.
Keep changing, keep growing, keep living.
Even when we know that change is good (or at least inevitable), even when we have much experience with change and its power, we often resist it. Accepting that resistance and plowing through the change anyway has worked well for me many times in my life. I’d still be living in Spokane, WA, working in the restaurant business and occasionally acting at the community theatre if I hadn’t.
Not a bad life, but not a particularly exciting one, either.
Thanks for the comments, Geoff.
You’re right in that we are often resistant to change, even when we know better. It’s really like experiencing the fear-of-success. Many can relate to the fear of failure, but the fear of becoming better or even extraordinary can be just as paralyzing.
Shifting our perspective to see change as essential to growth and life can help to start turning those butterflies of anxiety into positive excitement and motivation.
And, we’re all glad that you chose to move on from Spokane!
MS