FEAR OF CHANGE
Remember when we tried sneaking a ‘new food’ on our children’s plate and they flicked it off with a “uugh’ and a giggle as it landed on the dog!
I remember that secure feeling of knowing my Mum was at home when I walked through the door after school and the anxiety the day she went to the hairdressers and wasn’t there. Like it or not we are creatures of habit. We like our routines, the ‘comfort zone’ and don’t like to be faced with uncertainty or the unknown. We also need to be aware that those ‘four walls’ that keep us safe and secure can, at the same, time trap us from life adventures and new experiences.
I love traditions and I respect the rituals that create pillars and cornerstones to our lives. As a child Xmas and summer holidays were times when I loved doing the same thing every year.
In fact, our brains, through evolution, are just trying to keep us safe. We don’t step off the curb into oncoming traffic, we don’t drive on the wrong side of the road, the fear is there to protect us and keep us safe. In most cases fear of change stops us from taking action alongside guilt, anxiety and self-doubt which in turn stops us getting ahead in life.
We need self-esteem and self-confidence to kick that stupid ‘fear of change’ to the curb!
It could be a divorce, a new job, a transition or crossroads in life, a death of someone close to you, change – whether it’s good or bad – causes stress… as Forest Gump said: “You never know what you’re gonna get.”
There have been several turning points in my life when I knew I needed to make a change in order to feel happier – a job, a relationship and ultimately my marriage, but I was scared. For months, even years, I stayed where I was, doing the same thing, at least I didn’t have to worry about the “what-if…” or the scary unknown.
But if we don’t dip into what our intuition is screaming, our heart is yearning for or our head is contemplating how will we ever find our purpose, how will we even touch the shirt-tails of our dreams… we need to take a giant leap and be ready to soar!!
Remember that uncertainty is inevitable, no matter what, where or when, but the unknown could turn out to be AMAZING!!
Don’t play safe, sticking to what you know. We fear change because it asks us to LET GO and we’re not good at that. We hold on to the past even when it’s hurting us.
Take some risks – once you’ve made a decision to make a change, look forward and don’t look back… what was, is over; what’s NOW is what matters and the possibilities for living a better, happier and more positive life is in your hands.