I know that change is ongoing. I know there are natural cycles of change that are always occurring in my life. But sometimes I’d just like things to stay the way they are . At least, just for a while so I don’t have to work so hard to keep up with the changes. Have you ever felt that way?
The technical challenge
“Technical” is not a calling for me and yet I find it continually necessary for me to keep learning — new software, new web page set-ups, new social media platforms, new apps. It’s time-consuming and that’s when I realized I sometimes wish change were not so active in my life.
And yet…
How do you get things done if you don’t allow for change?
Not changing sure is easier
It’s a whole lot easier for me to sit a little longer each day than to get up and push myself to add a few steps to my walking routine. But sitting leads to a lessening of my ability and my strength. I have to oppose the change my body would like to make as it ages. And I have to adjust to the fact that change is happening all the time and that I need to learn to make informed decisions about what I should do about it.
It’s “too hard”
As my body gets cranky with age, I find myself saying, “this is hard to figure out.” Or “that’s hard to do.” I need to eliminate the word “hard” from my vocabulary. Something I want to do may take some imagination, it may take persistence, it may take practice, but the idea of “hard” or “difficult” has to go. I just need to hunker down and do it.
What do you want the outcome to be?
If I want my new email sign-up form to work, I have to read the directions and, if necessary, seek help from the service desk.
If I want to figure out my new phone and learn to use it effectively, I have to practice, or explore, or take lessons from someone a lot younger than I am.
If I want to have more stamina, I have to set a definite exercise program for myself and I absolutely must keep doing it regardless of what distractions my mind suggests.
Where is “too hard” in your life?
Keep an eye out for the times you start to do something and the idea of “too hard” shows up. Push through that. Banish it from your thinking. And watch for it to try to sneak back into your life in unexpected places. “Too hard” lurks around corners in waiting…
Ruts feel easier and safer
Ruts are very comfortable. It’s a lot easier to stay stuck where you are. There’s no challenge to learn something new. No opportunity to experience something different. Staying stuck sure is easy. Progress may take some effort. At the very least, progress is going to require you to be willing to change.
Change is going to happen anyway
Whether you embrace it or not, change is always happening. Just as the seasons organically change, so does our life experience unfold. Of course you can take some resting time. But when “too hard” shows up, look at it as a red flag and find your way around it.
Modify what you’re doing. Spread it out over smaller steps. Ask for help. Visualize how it’ll feel when you get to the other end of this change cycle.
There’s no time when there’s not change
Whether a change seems to happen in seconds, or in months, the process of change is the same. Keep an eye out for the changes that are slowing you down and encourage the outlook, habits, awareness and choices that help you keep steadily moving forward.
Erase the idea of “hard” from you life and replace it with “opportunity.”
Each new step, challenge, mistake, interaction is an element of change. It’s an opportunity to learn. Embrace it. Apply it.
To Sing a Deeper Song consider:
Be the Story you Want to Tell
The Move From Inner to Outer Work
Change Your Expectations
Share From Your Soul
Learn to Honor Your Inner Rhythm
