Change Happens: Part 1
Let’s face it, change is a part of life.
There literally is no way to keep changes from happening in your life. Whether, personal, professional, relational, etc. change will happen and that’s not going to change!
Perhaps Henry Wadsworth Longfellow said it best…
Nothing that is can pause or stay;
The moon will wax, the moon will wane,
The mist and cloud will turn to rain,
The rain to mist and cloud again,
Tomorrow be today.
This week I’m going to unpack what I have found to be incredibly valuable insights when it comes to dealing with and implementing change in a variety of different environments. This will be a week long series so bookmark 24/7 Life and be prepared to engage in the conversation. The more engagement, the more insights, the more insights the more valuable the conversation.
But for the sake of easing into the subject, let’s keep things simple today…with one question.
Why is change so hard?
I think we all would like to believe that we’re flexible and able to adapt to changes in our lives, but how often is that really the case? Unless a change is obviously going to cost us little and benefit us greatly, we push back on change and avoid it at all costs. We are much happier to accept the status quo than endure change.
Whether work related, or personal in nature change is hard and I would love to hear from you, as to why you believe that is the case.
Posted on April 18th, 2011 by David | 8 Comments »
I think because with routine brings comfort and familiarity. I am very odd. I LOVE change – like to stir it up a bit and have always loved to just ‘go and do’. In our many moves across country and back again throughout our years in ministry – I was always the first to grab hold of the idea of change – never found it difficult to part with ‘things’ and just go. Greg, however had a problem with this – does not like change and is not an ‘early adopter’ on anything. So it is individual. The changes that I don’t like, are those involving changes in attitude – trust or friendship. I’ve had good friends in the past and have had changes in those friendships that made me uncomfortable and wanting the consistency of the way things once were.
I think it’s great Cindy that you are so open to change. I definitely think that is more the exception than the rule and you even note that there are areas where it is hard for you to accept change. I find change that costs me something is the most difficult to make.
Great stuff, David. Looking forward to reading more this week.
I think change is hard because it is saying, “I am entering the unknown….”. And I know that I personally like to have things laid out for me. As someone who is calculated and cautious in a lot of decision making, I tend to be risk averse. So, if I am tossed into a situation where I can’t control it (or don’t know what the potential outcome is) I’ll be fearful.
Dustin, those are great thoughts and I totally agree. Especially for those of us who like to have a plan, the thought of the unknown can be hard.
I appreciate you reading.
Great post, my friend.
I think change is hard for a lot of people because we like a sense of control. If things change it’s usually something outside of our control and we resist that.
I guess you could say people don’t like change because it reminds them that they are not God.
KC that’s a great point. Anytime we’re reminded that we aren’t actually in control can be a scary time. We definitely like to believe that we have the power to dictate everything in our lives and when we find out that’s not the case it can be a struggle.
Oh, I like the new series. Looking forward to it.
Change is hard because it’s “uncomfortable”, it’s different, it requires action and acceptance. All things that go against what we like to do.
Moe, I love your point about change requiring “action and acceptance.” We definitely fight agains those two things at times. We are often big fans of the status quo and anything that challenges that can be difficult for us to accept.