How are you with change?  Good, horrible…or maybe you fear it and stay stuck on purpose?  While change may be inevitable in life, few people embrace it.  When we worry about our future, we may worry about what the change will mean to us individually, our spouse, our children, and basically just in general to our way of life.  But what is worry???  Fear of the unknown…yes?  I never thought of that when I was staying stuck due to not wanting to change.  I wanted more, yes, but I wasn’t willing to actually DO anything to make it happen, so everything remained a dream because change…well…it was scary.  Does any of this sound familiar to you or to someone you know?

Sometimes we are catapulted into change whether we like it or not; we lose our homes, our jobs, someone we love or who supports us dies, health issues come up…so many things can happen.  We are rudely awakened from where we are.  I know quite a few people who lost their jobs due to layoffs and each and every one said they had been thinking of leaving their jobs for awhile but probably would have stayed a number of years longer due to the effort it took and the fear factor of change.  They also said they were thrilled with the change.  Most made more money, moved upward instead of laterally, had a better environment, commute or a combination of those.  But the thrill of course came after they got over the shock and shook themselves out of their fear.

I’ve come to the conclusion that life is short this time around and that if we aren’t happy, we need to embrace change instead of fighting it.  This may mean you actually initiate the change yourself instead of closing your eyes and hoping for the best if you invite it in, or if it happens to you.

If you aren’t good with change, you can always practice.  Start with something small you want to make a change over.  Test the waters and give it a go.  Not every change will go perfectly without bumps, but those are just learning curves we need to have in order to navigate the shifts and our new surroundings.  Love yourself enough to find more happiness and joy in your life.  Change can make it happen even if you fear it right now.