Embrace the Change, Realize its Tremendous Value! Part 3 in the Achievement series

Embracing change can be difficult. Along with everyone else, you like being right and you think that change means you must have been wrong.

Are You Wrong?
But is this true? Are the only choices right and wrong? What is an improvement, becoming more right? Recognize the secret of success - you can't improve anything without changing it. A wise man once said: "To grow is to progress is to change."

You like the familiar, because it gives a certain comfort. Yet too familiar becomes boring while change is the opposite. It's the new, the unfamiliar that is exciting. Excitement as well as life both begin at the end of your comfort zone.

Yet you are afraid of the unknown because you don't know where it'll take you. Your self sabotage mechanism tells you that it might be worse than where you are now. But why listen? You'll change your life by listening instead to your positive side saying that it might be better! And the excitement that comes with unfamiliarity is an additional bonus.

But reaching any goal and achieving any dream are changes themselves, which is completely obvious. So why do you resist change? The usual answer is that you only want positive change, not negative change.

Is the Change Positive or Negative?
Who determines whether a change is positive or negative? You do.

But do you have the gift of infallible foresight? No? I thought not. The secret of success is to see that even if there are short-term challenges, you also get tremendous benefits in the long run.

Have you ever thought something was an absolute disaster as it happened, only to find out years later that it was a blessing in disguise? I have, and someone you know has, you may even have experienced this yourself.

The uncomfortable changes which the "disaster" forced on you were so beneficial you realized later that, although you wouldn't want to go through the experience again, you are glad it happened. Some even find they can say that: It changed my life and I wouldn't have it any other way. Which means they have completely let it go and can move on.

Yet if it gave you such benefits, then was it positive or negative? Both? Actually, the secret of success is to realize it's neither. It's just change, reality, it's what actually happened. The judgment of positive or negative is added by you. Hence some see an incident as negative, and others see exactly the same situation as positive. It all depends on your context.

Everything Changes, it's Inevitable
Embrace change, it's inevitable anyway. Everything changes, depending on the time-frame. Rocks wear down and become sand. You breathe in and out. Your hair gets mussed, you brush it and then say that your hair hasn't changed. But it has, you brush it simply because it has changed.

So why is change such a constant challenge, requiring constant vigilance? Because you think you need to control the outcome in the short-term as well as the long-term. Yet you've already agreed that there are long-term benefits. So put your attention on the benefits, and ignore the temporary discomfort. Athletes know to do this: No pain, no gain!

Yet you cling to the familiar. Your self sabotage mechanism will try to get you to reject changes you know to be beneficial by telling you other things are more important. When you think things through and see the value in the unfamiliar, then it'll add negative emotions to the mix and you find yourself fearing the change. You can change your life by recognizing the only thing to fear is fear itself!

So work through the doubt and the emotionality and do it anyway. Avoid the long-term consequences for pursuing short-term comfort at any expense. One day, when you've had enough of the painful consequences, you'll decide you need to run your own life. Then you reclaim your freedom, free to follow and achieve your dreams.

© Copyright worldwide Cris Baker, www.LifeStrategies.net All rights reserved. Republishing welcomed under Creative Commons noncommercial no derivatives license preserving all links intact, so please +1 and share this widely!

Food for Thought
"Action and reaction, ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress."

- Bruce Barton, 1886 – 1967, inspirational American author, advertising executive, businessman's role model