I don’t deal well with change. I never have. Yet I know it’s inevitable in our lives. Nothing stays. Nothing continues exactly as it is forever. And that’s because we as human beings don’t stay the same forever. We get older and our children get older, and we must adapt to it.
Change is hard. But what we know and what we are used to, doesn’t always allow growth.
Our kids deal with change all the time, and it’s usually change we have created for them. When we move to a different place, different house, new city, put them in a new school, switch their sports teams. They get new teachers each year, change grades, change baseball seasons which means, playing at a new level.
And even if we stay put in one place, and try our best to keep things consistent, change always comes around eventually.
People change, jobs change, plans change, relationships change, the weather changes, clocks change.
You must adapt!
Starting a new job, moving to a new state, even trying different foods can be unnerving. We want to feel comfortable. But then we run the risk of becoming complacent.
Then there’s too much change. One year, I moved six different times. A LOT was going on that year, not all in my control, and it was one change after another. Sometimes it can be traumatic. It can affect your health.
Sometimes change can bring fear and doubt. And that’s just no fun. “What if I can’t do it? What if I’m not cut out for it? What if it’s too much?” I have felt all those things. In starting a new job, in going back school, in running a race, it's there in the back of my mind. But I know that I need to face it (whatever it is) and be a good example for my boys. I want to teach them that doubt will creep In, but you must rise above it.
There was a gal in our old neighborhood who used to run with a stroller with her infant daughter inside. We would see her plugging along, running past our house daily. I would often see her coming back from my own runs as well. One day, we were outside as she ran past pushing her stroller, but on this particular day, there was no baby in it. My husband made light of the situation and yelled “Ma’am, you forgot your baby today!” The gal turned back and said “She’s too big for this stroller now, but I just can’t seem to run without it. I’m so used to pushing it and can’t make the change to just run alone!”
Yep, change is hard! We get comfortable with a routine, a job, a team, a neighborhood to live, even a stroller. And it’s hard to change. We know it means getting out of our “comfort zone.”
I remember a cross country coach of mine telling me once, “If you’re not uncomfortable in a race, then you’re not running fast enough. In order to be great, you must push your limits.”
Change is uncomfortable. Especially the change we bring upon ourselves. It leads us second-guessing everything. But sometimes it is just what we need to do in order to find greatness inside.
We have moved a lot as a family. And each time we’ve moved, I have worried about the boys and how they will acclimate. Making new friends, having to leave old friends behind…it sucks. But I’ve learned that they follow our attitude about life.
I tell them it doesn’t matter where we live, if we are together. And hey, this will be an adventure. Kids are kind of like sponges; they absorb every little thing. They are also extremely resilient. And have thrived wherever life has taken us.
“The only constant in life is change.” -Heraclitus
Life is an adventure. And you only get one chance at it. So, take the risk, face the change and see where it takes you. Regret is much stronger than change. Regret will still exist in your mind long after change will.
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