Why are people scared of change? The funny thing about change is it is intimidating no matter what the change is. It’s scary, the unknown of change. It’s also inevitable. Life is a series of changes, from the moment we enter into this world the changes begin and never stop until we leave.
For some reason, we think we can avoid it, skip it, maneuver around it, and pretend it isn’t happening. It is. It will. It always happens…change.
I came across a passage in The Alchemist. (Yes, I am still reading it). This is one of those books that I am savoring for the lessons that it carries. Here is one such passage:
“I’m already used to the way things are. Before you came, I was thinking about how much time I had wasted in the same place, while my friends had moved on, and either went bankrupt or did better than they had before. It made me very depressed. Now, I can see that it hasn’t been too bad. The shop is exactly the size I always wanted it to be. I don’t want to change anything, because I don’t know how to deal with change. I’m used to the way I am.”
The change this passage was about would have brought a significant amount of business to the shop owner, and a viable change in income. The shop owner was scared of that change…scared of a better life and herein lies the rub for so many people. They don’t want to try new things or go to the next level, not necessarily because they will fail, but because they won’t and that success will bring about an inevitable change…
A lot of us wouldn’t admit to such nonsense, but I can assure you that the reason many people don’t get out of their self-imposed, limiting boxes isn’t because they’re too lazy, under educated, or under equipped but because they are scared of the unknown changes that success will bring.
That’s a sad thing to me, but not surprising. There is comfort in the same ole. There is a feeling of familiarity that is all encompassing that oftentimes we are unaware of it.
It takes a tremendous amount of courage to do the next thing to make a change. I have found in my personal journey of recovery that the change that comes is worth every uncomfortable, scary feeling that the unknown brings.
I encourage you to step out of your comfort zone and make a tiny step toward that thing that you’ve always wanted to experience or have in your life no matter how scary. Take it slow, one small baby step at a time and see how you like it before doing the next thing.
I would love to hear how that works for you.
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