All throughout our lives, change is a constant. We change physically from the time of our birth to the day that we pass away. We change mentally, learning new information and forgetting old information that we don’t use. We even change emotionally, being highly confident and fearless as children and evolving our perceptions and feelings many times over as we progress through life. A variety of circumstances accelerate our changes. The passing of loved ones, relocations, career adjustments, health issues, and various relationships and events help transform us on all levels.
Many people have a difficult time with change. Every change brings with it a type of loss and a new beginning. Since loss is undesirable to us, we tend to try to avoid it. We don’t want to have to miss or mourn what once was. This often has a paralyzing effect on many of us. Because we try so hard to hold on to the familiar, we keep ourselves in place, not allowing ourselves to progress forward. In work, we may hold on to a job that doesn’t challenge us nor teach us anything new. In relationships, we may stay in a less than healthy dynamic simply because it is familiar, and we do not want to free ourselves for something different. Even our home life can be at a standstill, as we choose to stay where we are instead of relocating to a new home or geography. There are many other aspects in life where we are running in place, by choice, because we simply do not want to have to change. Letting go of the familiar can be scary.
The notion of change can trigger anxiety, fear, and sadness. We go to great lengths to avoid all of these undesirable feelings. We don’t want to have to experience these types of negative emotions, and so we choose not to make any changes. Although letting go of the familiar can be scary, staying put can be suffocating and stifling. The issue with playing it safe is that we sacrifice the possibility of progressing to something better. A better job, healthier relationship, or nicer place to live are all forfeited for the sake of avoiding change. There are many different examples of how our lives could be improved if we would build up the courage to let go of what is and venture on into the unknown. Boldly deciding to face the undesirable feelings of saying goodbye instead of purposely avoiding them. Once we free ourselves from the grip of avoidance, then we are able to make valuable steps into our future.
Embracing change can be liberating. It allows us to truncate the amount of time we feel loss of what once was and welcome our new reality. We settle into our new job, and gain the excitement of learning all that we can to do great work in our new role. We relax into our new relationship, allowing ourselves to fully learn about our new partner and fill them in on who we are. We move into our new place, and make it a safe and cozy home for ourselves and our family. Meeting new people, experiencing novel activities, adding to our skillset, learning interesting information, and growing all the while. Often, after we’ve taken the leap of change, we look back and wonder why we ever feared the change. Even going through a difficult health challenge can bring about an invaluable perspective on life. There are so many examples where releasing the familiar and embracing change leads us to a more positive point in life. Sure, there are times where we let go of the old familiar, step into something new, only to discover that we should not have made the change. That experience also teaches us something, so we’re already ahead because we’ve gained experience and wisdom.
No change goes totally in vain. All change brings with it wisdom. The next time you find yourself in conflict over whether to make a change, be sure to listen to your inner guidance. Most of the time, your intuition will nudge you in the direction that it hopes you will go. It will whisper to you the answer that you seek despite your negative emotions about change. We’ve all been there, where our inner voice tells us that it’s time to look for a new job, but we don’t want to go through the hassles of job hunting…so we don’t listen to that voice. Or when our inner voice tells us that the relationship we’re in is an unhealthy dynamic, but we stay in it because we don’t want the hassles of trying to date to find someone new. So many excuses to not make a change. So many logical reasons to avoid change. So much time wasted holding on to the unfulfilling and not progressing to our next best. We limit ourselves. Time to stop limiting our options, and leap onto new opportunities. Time to fly to higher heights in all levels of our lives. Allow contentment to settle into you. Change can bring about comfort and happiness…give yourself permission to allow this to happen.