Change Is Scary? But Don’t Be Scared
One thing that can trigger my anxiety is change. I admit it. I hate change. It scares me, I find it daunting. The unknown, the strange feeling of unfamiliarity of new things.
I remember once at work we had a workshop. At that workshop we had a section that discussed change and our attitudes towards it. We were asked to use words to describe how we felt about change. As you may tell, my words were pretty negative.
Another colleague however, had the complete opposite feeling, and I remember one word they used was – exciting. When asked to explain, they said that they found change exciting because of all the wonderful new opportunities that change gives.
Ever since then I have wished I could feel the same way.
For me, change is happening a lot at the moment. Children are growing up and will soon be leaving school, a close older family member is getting noticeably older, and they are changing, even my dog is changing from a wee pup to a very fussy dog!
Nothing seems to be staying the same and it feels very uncertain and daunting.
It is times of change I have to remind myself to go easy on me and to take a step back from everything that feels anxious.
When change happens, it is very easy to feel that everything in your life is changing. But that is not the case. Just because people get older, or move on to new things, they are still part of your life.
Nothing is being taken away, in fact new things, people and experiences are being added to your life.
I try to remember that change may be scary, but that doesn’t mean it is bad. And my work colleague was right.
Instead of seeing change as an obstacle, try to see it as an added opportunity to what we already have.
