Do you fear change in your life, habits, attitude, even the people you live or work with? Or do you embrace change with enthusiasm, eager and hopeful for what’s going to happen next?
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| I will never be the same when I take this path |
Change is inevitable. The world around us changes all the time. We change, too, even if we sometimes do not discern it ourselves. Just take a look at your photo taken a year or two ago. You just don’t look the same as before. Not just in terms of the extra wrinkly spots or newly sprouted white hairs, but in the way you think, feel, or react to situations. Although the previous year may seem too short, so many of life’s events that transpired during that year has changed you into the person you are now.
I see my daughter growing right before my eyes – all five years of her – and I just marvel at how fast she has changed from a helpless infant to a zestful preschooler. How much more different would she be in another five years’ time?
Change has a considerable psychological impact on the human mind. To the fearful it is threatening because it means that things may get worse. To the hopeful it is encouraging because things may get better. To the confident it is inspiring because the challenge exists to make things better. (King Whitney Jr.)
I hate to admit it, but I get fearful that things may get worse. This makes me fear change. I used to be a very optimistic person. But my Dad’s death made me realize that yes, things do get worse: not recovering from illness being one of them. I do not fear so much for myself, but I do get fearful for my own family – their safety and health, overall well-being, and happiness. Sometimes I imagine the worst scenario, and in my mind I try to brace myself. It is perhaps a coping mechanism that I have developed while recovering from my grief with my Dad.
But now I want to let go of these fears. Most of the time, the worst of our worries do not happen. If it happened to the other person, it doesn’t mean that it’s going to happen to you as well. Planes crash, ships sink, and what do you know, even buildings get hit by commercial jetliners – so why should you worry that you’d be on one of them when the inevitable happens? My point is, worrying about things beyond our control is just plain pointless. Some things just happen without our direct interference. There is really nothing we can do about them, except to rid ourselves of needless worries about things that may or may not happen.
I just don’t want to be hopeful, but confident as well. I want to rise up to the challenges while striving to make things better not just for myself but for my family as well.
Change is the constant, the signal for rebirth, the egg of the phoenix. (Christina Baldwin)
The person who is too fearful, too unwilling to take risks, and who does not trust in his/her abilities to cope with change will not be able to realize their full potential. And that is a life not well spent.
I do not want to live below my potential. I do not want to live in the end regretting that I did not do things because I was too afraid. I want to rise to the challenge. Who cares if I make mistakes? This is my life, dammit, and if I don’t at least try, I will never get anywhere. The comfort zone never allows for growth. I will have to get out of it if I want to expand and grow as an individual.
If we choose to believe so, change has the potential to make us stronger. I say, bring on the change.
Some don’t risk too much because many depend on them like families and relatives. If they commit mistakes, the lives of the people they love and care for may dramatically change for the worse.
yeah bring it on!
god I need change! seriously!
Amen,sister! Fear of change will always be there–I think it is very human to always want to KNOW and fear what they don’t know. But if we want to live full lives, we have to resist fear and take risks. Cool post. 🙂
constant change, huh? hope it’s always for the better but that’s not always the case. anyway, life goes on kahit ano pa manyari. tuloy pa rin ang buhay.:)
“Cause life’s a constant change, and nothing stays the same, oh no”
from the song Constant change by Jose mari Chan, my fave song (and started singing the chorus) “We’re all like clouds that move across the skies and changing form before our very eyes…”
there are things in my life that i want to change, but i’m scared 😀 but taking risks is better than having what-ifs…
btw, the picture you included in this post is really pretty 😀
Absolutely true- change is simply inevitable. And if I may paraphrase an old samurai warrior creed ” no fear, no surprise, no hesitation, no doubt”, I thought this kind of sums up how we must face life itself 🙂
As well, we have the man above who we can always call on to help 🙂
Reflecting on ‘growing up’ makes me faced with a lot of what-ifs for my loved ones and myself. (Sigh) I’ll be going though a new phase next semester, inasmuch as I’m excited, I am also scared. I don’t know if I’ll fit in my new work place. As early as now I already dread the upcoming Christmas party and January — spending my birthday as an employee. Praning diba? “If we choose to believe so, change has the potential to make us stronger. I say, bring on the change.” Yeah, bring it on! 😉
“bring on the change”
I like that! 🙂
I am apprehensive of changes like when I move jobs & it’s in an industry I’ve no experience on. But I try my best not to let fear rule my life. If we do then as you said we’ll never know our limits, we’ll never know what we’re capable of.
Sabi nang ibang kakilala ko “malakas ang loob” ko. But that’s how everyone should live di ba? It’s not easy, my feet turn cold, my hands become clammy & my heart pound. But no one can see that. And in truth I don’t want them to.
Yes, I agree that sometimes change is feared because of making mistakes. But then again, even with our noblest of intentions and best of preparations, mistakes still happen because we’re only human, and there are many things beyond our control. It’s a dreadful thing to have to watch our loved ones suffer because of our mistakes.
Verns, what particular change are you willing to take? 🙂
I know that this post will resonate with you. I do admire your adaptability and the ease with which you adjust to changes in your life. 🙂
Indeed, life goes on. At least nowadays, if something wrong or bad happens, there’s always blogging to help us let out some steam, hehe. And blogger friends who’d be ready to share their words of wisdom!
I know this song from a long time ago, but for some reason I couldn’t remember the lyrics nor the melody. 😛 I do love Jose Mari Chan’s songs myself. Ang ganda ng lyrics ng songs niya.
Cyberpunk, that picture was taken inside our institute. Nice huh? The trees turn a bright yellow each autumn season.
As my favorite quote goes: “You’ll never know unless you try.” I hope you’ll find inspiration in those words to create that change you long for. 🙂
Bw, who was it who said that “the more we change, the more we stay the same…” and vice versa?
True, resting our cares on the One above can help alleviate our fears and anxieties about the future, our life, and everything else that concerns us.
Being scared is only natural. But as with other human emotions, it is up to us how to handle this natural reaction to change.
Good luck with your new life as an employee! Carpe diem! 😀
Ako naman, mahina loob…I’m so resistant to change that sometimes I really have to psych myself about it. But what am I going to do about it? Therein lies the challenge.
Thanks for sharing your thoughts! 🙂
Change is the only thing certain in this life (well, death and taxes too, lol). But we can make of change an ally instead of a foe. By going with the flow … by growing and mellowing as we change.
And yes, I know how fast children change. Parang you just turn
around and voila they’re all grown up na. Hindi na masyadong mabango, ayaw nang magpakiss or magpahug.
Pero at the moment, I am so inip for my Andrea Lorraine to be able to clap her hands and coo and coo. Tagal. 🙂