Change. Some crave it, some dread it. Some seek it out their entire lives, going on adventure after adventure, career and relationship hopping - while others are perfectly content living in the same town they grew up in, working in the same job at the same company for 30+ years, and thrive on routine. For the latter type of person, any slight change, hiccup, or unexpected circumstance can be cause for a meltdown. Your world is tipped just slightly off its axis, and boom, your life is in shambles. What makes us one type of person or the other? Can we be both?
The fact is, change comes naturally easy to some people. They are wired to be adaptable, and not only can accept change when it comes their way, but lives for it. New position? Challenge accepted. Broken up with? Moving on to the next. Now, this isn't to say that this type of person cares less about their life experiences - some change will hurt, some change will be cause for celebration. The point is that this type of person knows how to take on a new situation a bit easier than the other - or if they don't know how, they feel more at ease trying to figure it out.
On the other hand, like I said, change can send others into a tizzy. Anxiety takes over, and the uncertainties of this new experience can send them spiraling. They didn't prepare for this, this wasn't in the plan, how do you even meet new people again? They like familiarity, comfort, certainty.
Many of us fall somewhere in the middle. We love a good switch-up when it's needed and on our terms, but anything out of the blue and scary is off-limits. We'll take the promotion, but throw us a global pandemic and we're feeling just a tad uneasy!
But, even those who run for the hills from change may not realize - we're changing every day. I know, you've heard it before, the long debate of, do we really ever change? But I'm here to say YES - and thank God for it! Can you imagine being the same person at the same stage of life as you were at, say, seven years old? I would still be driving around in a Barbie jeep, watching Lizzie McGuire, and struggling with subtraction (that actually doesn't sound so bad?).
But, really - you never live the same day twice. We grow and learn from every interaction with someone, every place we visit, every heartbreak we experience, every mistake we make. Many of us outgrow people, places, jobs and move into new ones which maybe weren't right for our 18-year-old self, but couldn't be more perfect for our 27-year-old self.
We are changing every second - so why are we so afraid? We should embrace the change that we are, and strive for more, more, more. Do you really want to look back on your life and realize you stayed in a straight line for 80 years? Make the scribble, do the zig-zag, make it messy - because that is a life worth looking back on.
We all want to grow to be the best versions of ourselves. So whether you love it or hate it, let's all start not only accepting but embracing change - because it will serve us in more ways than we know.
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