When I reminisce about this past year so far, I think about all of the changes I have met. But, I do not merely reflect on changes. Instead, I think about but how these experiences changed me. To name one tremendous and exciting development, I am elated to share that my husband and I’s offer was accepted on our first home and we will be moving next month! As I look to the future and envision our new home, I imagine how our lives will shift, how our family will grow, and what that may look like.
Throughout our journeys in life, change can bring an abundant amount of nervousness and excitement, all at the same time. Although we may not always experience enormous events in our lives on a regular basis, we can always expect a change in some shape capacity.
For instance, with each passing year, without us even realizing it we age, we grow, we look different, we feel different, we (hopefully) evolve in our thinking, and our friend and family dynamic changes.
Through these adaptations, little by little, day by day, we are changed. We are most likely still the same person at our core, but we are just another updated version of ourselves. This diversification makes us better, not worse. Why? Because if we stayed the same forever, we would not be learning and becoming who we are, even as we age.
The Hard Truth- Reimagined
The truth is everything in life changes.
Somehow, over time, that phrase above has a negative connotation. Rather than the expression feeling like a warm invitation to accept and embrace change, it feels like a warning. Sometimes, this is said more in the tone and manner in which people say it.
But, this post is a gentle reminder that change is a scary part of life, but that it can be beautiful and natural, too. Funny enough, the messy part of change usually becomes the best education that we look back on and remember forever.
Questions in Moments of Discomfort
Over time, we try to come to terms that change happens in our personal lives. We understand this because we see us changing personally every day. But, for some reason, when shifts happen in education, it can often throw us for a loop. The change can make us feel out of our element, out of control, and uncomfortable. We may be even oppositional to change. When I feel myself becoming too critical or if I am noticing that I am experiencing moments of discomfort, I ask myself these three questions to keep myself grounded:
Disclaimer: There are no right or wrong answers to the questions. Use these questions as a reflection opportunity.
1. Am I changing just to change or to get better?
2. What am I fearful of?
3. What excuse am I giving to myself that may be holding me back? Go deeper to think of the “why.”
We have all been frightened of change. It is easy to overlook that change is a process that we all go through in our paths. But, writing down these questions above, reflecting deeply upon them, and referring to them often have helped me drop the excuses and to help me embrace my LIFE. I have learned that sometimes we need to get out of our own way because WE are the person holding us back.
Change is inevitable. Will we be a constructive and active member of change, or will we sit on the sidelines and miss out on any and every opportunity to grow?
Thoughts to Ponder
Today and every single day, I hope you urge yourself and others to find solace in the peaks AND valleys of life. Change makes us who we are. Yet, evolution is not always easy. Sometimes it is a downright struggle. However, each high and each low will make us better…if we allow it to.
How will you prevent yourself from getting in your own way, while embracing the messy alterations in your life?
