Does the thought of change make you squirm a bit? If it does, you aren’t alone. Most people don’t like change. We like consistency in everything we do. We like this because it requires less energy to handle it and get the same result. This is wired into our being. With that being said, there are problems with never dealing with change.
The one downside of staying the same that I want to focus on, and which I put the most weight on, is the lack of growth. When things don’t change, you don’t grow. It’s not an opinion, it’s a fact. It’s like a plant, if you never change the pot that the plant is in it will never grow and get bigger. It’s the same with our chickens at our house. When they were chicks all 10 lived in a small 2’X3’ cage for 2 months. The week we moved them into their new BIG home we noticed how much they grew in literally 10 days. No lie, they were almost double in size! In other words, we were holding them back by not giving them a larger place to grow into. The lack of change deprived their ability to grow.
By now I hope this is sinking in that this analogy could be used in your life. You are the chicken! Your life can become the small little comfortable cage that looks a lot better than the big, new chicken house. The problem is that the bigger chicken house will be much better for you long term if you are willing to give it a chance. As they say, comfort is the enemy of growth. I would completely agree.
A good exercise to work on to help yourself get more “comfortable” with change is to start small. Change the route to work. Change your underwear. (just seeing if you are paying attention) Change your friends you hang with. Change your living room up. Change the books you read. Change how you talk to yourself. You understand what I am saying, pick one thing in a week and do 4 new things in a month. The key is to start getting used to change. Make it a habit. You won’t regret it.
Dr. Brett