Changes in schedule bother me to no end and up-and-coming bigger changes leave me wide-eyed and paralysed like a deer in the headlights.
I’ve heard of the saying, “fight or flight”, but I have found that there is a third option, and that is to freeze.
You can fight the change and lose, or you can flee the change and have it catch up with you anyway.
Or, if you are like me, you can simply become so paralysed by the fear of change that you become overwhelmed and consumed by it.
The thing is though, dear reader, that no matter how you choose to react to the change, it will happen anyway.
It has only recently come to my attention that as people, we should try and be as unaffected by change as we can be.
It doesn’t help if we stress about it and feel massive amounts of anxiety if there is nothing we can do to stop the changes at hand.
And besides, even if you manage to avoid the change, you will soon feel stagnated and stunted.
At least this is the case for yours truly.
There is absolutely nothing we can do.
In this fast-paced world, where change occurs on a daily basis, it’s easy to feel that we, as people, are in a constant state of flux.
The only certainty we have is that change can and will occur at any given time, sometimes without warning.
Whether that be an imminent move, a promotion at work you don’t feel quite ready for, or a change in your relationships with your peers.
I recently heard a very interesting saying, it goes: “Life is like a steamroller, and if you don’t stay ahead you will fall behind and be flattened”.
In my opinion, this statement could not be more true.
The most successful people in life, I have noticed, are the people who are the least affected by change.
Why would we, as people, choose to put ourselves through suffering and immense mental discomfort because we are afraid of a little change?
The answer is a simple one.
It is because we are so afraid of the unknown that it can paralyse us and hinder us from doing something that might ultimately be for the best.
Either that, or because we are afraid of failure.
We are so afraid of what other people might say or think of us that we choose to just continue as we have and not allow anything to change.
We are afraid that if we ‘fail’ people will think less of us, or take pleasure in the fact that we failed.
I have news for you, dear reader, and it is a lesson that I, myself, have learnt time and time again.
These people whose approval you so desperately crave, and whose opinions you let rule your life, are just as afraid of change as you are.
You might even be the very person whose opinion they are afraid of, you will never know.
And the real clincher is, nobody really cares.
Everyone is so wrapped up in their own problems and the changes that they, themselves, are facing that your problem is not even a blip on their radar.
I have learnt that one should never be afraid to embrace or make changes because of the opinions of others.
Also, never be afraid to fail, because as long as you know that you gave your all and tried your utmost best, then you have already succeeded.
I have found that in every situation there is something to be learnt, no matter what.
If we can learn from our experiences and come back from them stronger and wiser than we were before, then there is no reason for us to believe that we have failed.
It is now that I wish to amend a previous statement, there are not only three options when it comes to change.
There should always be four, and these are: fight, flight, freeze and embrace.
Embrace the changes at hand and you will be just fine.
Follow your heart, but use your head and always remember, nothing ventured, nothing gained.
No matter what kind of change you are facing, go for it with everything you have.
Life is an adventure, as I have learned, and you only live once.
Go out and make the best of it, because at the end of the day, it might be all you have.
