Why we fight, avoid, or resist change?
The list of life changes is long, but to name a few:
Schedule changes - they don’t have to be immediate or unexpected to be hard, they’re just hard sometimes
People changes - staff at places I go frequently, family adjustments (e.g., divorce or new baby), new neighbors, new coaches
Change in job duties - reduction OR addition of duties, processes, locations
Road detours
“New ownership” at restaurants
World changes like Pluto isn’t a planet, but then it is, but then it isn’t
“New meeting location” for clubs, teams, groups
Phone updates
Store rearrangements or remodels (why is cereal in a new aisle?!)
Expectations or regulations
Change is hard in theory, but what if nothing ever changed? It’s actually the initial reaction that’s hard. It took a while, but I have gotten better at talking myself through changes and realize sometimes I like the new situation. Honestly, it simply comes down to patience.
The “I’ll get used to it, just bear with me while I adjust” doesn’t work for everything, but it gets me through most transitional phases. When work calls to tell me I’m teaching a different class next semester, rather than resist I try to ask questions to process the change, then I wait a day or so to think through the ‘pros’ of the new situation. By then usually I’ve accepted the change.
Accepting change doesn’t mean liking it. It just means dealing with it so it doesn’t consume our thoughts.