Change is hard at first, messy in the middle, and gorgeous at the end.
People tend to be resistant to change. Change brings uncertainty, loss of control, extra work, and concern that you won’t be enough to make it happen. However, change also brings personal growth, increased opportunities, and offers the chance to make your life better than it was yesterday. Change can be hard and messy, but change is always worth it in the end.
Why Are People Resistant to Change
Our brains are hardwired to be resistant to change. Even when we are presented with an idea or an opportunity that is undoubtedly better than our current situation, we see change as a threat, which often triggers our fight or flight response. So why do we always see change as a threat?
Uncertainty and Fear of the Unknown
Change is hard to initiate and accept because we don’t know exactly what the outcome of that change will be. Even if the outcome is somewhat guaranteed, we still think of things that can go wrong. We often feel that it is safer to remain exactly where we are.
Loss of Control
When we know exactly what we are doing in our day-to-day life, we feel in control of everything that happens. We know how our brand of computer works, we know how to do our current job with ease, and we know how to make the same meal we’ve eaten over one hundred times.
If we change something about our day-to-day lives, we lose that sense of control. A new job means that we need to learn how that company works, a new computer means we might not know the correct programs to use and cooking a new meal might require learning a new cooking skill.
Extra Work
Sometimes we resist change because we know making that change is going to require extra work. Change does not happen without putting in some effort, and that can make it hard to initiate change in the first place.
How to Overcome Resistance to Change
While people tend to be resistant to change, there are several ways we can overcome that resistance and make changes that benefit our lives in many ways.
Weigh the Risks
As mentioned above, we are resistant to change because we don’t know exactly what the outcome will be. A good way to get around that uncertainty is the assess what you are risking by making that change. The worst possible outcome is typically not as bad as we originally thought. It’s also important to weight out what you are risking by not making the change.
Take a Learning Approach
Change is inevitable in life. It is going to happen whether we like it or not. Why not embrace the changes and view them as an opportunity to grow? When we take on a learning approach, everything becomes a chance to expand our knowledge, skills, and talents, and we fear change less because we know that we will improve ourselves along the way.
Consider the Benefits of Change
We cannot move forward in life without change, and change is a beautiful thing! Let’s consider the benefits:
- Change brings personal growth and development.
- Change leads us to where we want to be.
- Change brings excitement to life.
- Change makes us stronger.
- Change causes a ripple effect and leads to larger, more ideal changes.
- Change allows us to see things in a new way.
- Change brings flexibility.
- Change allows us to see and have more opportunities.
With all of these amazing benefits, how could we say no to change?
Remember, change is not an easy roller coaster to get on, and it isn’t always a straightforward process. However, the result is always better than staying where you were and remaining the person you were yesterday.