Change Your Perspective

Ask one of my family members, and I'm betting he or she will tell you that I hate change.
Until a few years ago, that would have been 100% accurate.

I used to view change as negative. Friends moved, my parents divorced, eventually I moved. Change wasn't good.

When things change, we fear the unknown. We don't know what to expect, so sometimes we expect the worst. Why? Where did the fear come from?

Very early on in my personal life - two or three years of age - my fear of change was formed. Once a typical reaction forms, it becomes habit. You have to change your perspective to adjust how you are affected. It has taken me years, and immeasurable amounts of positive self-talk, to alter my perspective of change.

Change can be sad, of course. You can always have something to miss or something you do not wish to let go. However, you can appreciate it - an object, a relationship, a job, a home - for what it was and how it changed you, then you can celebrate it. You can see what you can take from the experience. How it helped you and how you have grown.

The only other option is to fight it and be miserable. Too many people choose that route. When you shut down and let anger or despair take over, you are unable to learn and grow.

My own epiphany was pretty much to ask "What can I do about it?" When you have a change thrown at you - one of which seems you have no control - ask yourself that question.

You may not only surprise yourself with the answers, but you might also find an opportunity that you didn't see before. Fear or no fear, what can you do about it? Change your focus... change your perspective.