Change: It's Completely Normal

If you have pets, you understand the comparison I am about to make. I have three dogs. They have a routine. They know we wake up; we go outside. Mom lets us sniff around; we get a treat. She feeds us, and we play. As the day goes on, we snuggle with her. It's been that way their whole little puppy lives. Any variance of that is a travesty in their world. There is panicking, and confusion, and to be honest, sometimes accidents on the carpet. Change is hard for them. Now I'm not saying I have gotten so upset that I myself have peed on the carpet, but you get my drift. In all honesty, I'm a lot like my pups. Change is a big deal, and rather scary.

We as humans have our own routines. We kinda expect that every day will be the same as before. We are safe and happy in our own worlds of normalcy. It's what we know. It's comforting. Any variation of that is terrifying. I mean really think about this for a minute. You know how your day is a little off because you got up late and missed that second cup of coffee? You broke your routine. You may giggle, but your day is strangely askew because of a minor change. For some it can be a pretty big deal to break with routine. We are creatures of habit. We like what we know. I can honestly say I have only known one person who absolutely had no routine whatsoever. She was a brilliant sun who went supernova. But that is another blog for another day. 

Now...we've smirked about small changes. What about the major changes we face? Maybe you're about to switch jobs, or locations, or you've lost a friend or family member. Whatever the major life change is, these can be earth shattering. We fear the unknown. When your life has been on the same course for a long time, and you suddenly have to detour, it can be daunting. It can take us places emotionally that we weren't prepared. When we are startled or taken by surprise, often we go in to fight or flight mode. We have a tendency to fight change. It's foreign. It makes us nervous. It is an invasion into a comfort zone. We push back hard to keep it from happening. We tend to revert back to the way the pups act. We protect our turf. 

It doesn't matter how many times it happens in life, change will throw us for a loop. If you really think about it, and I mean seriously ponder it, there are probably more changes in life than "normal" times. I don't have to list them. You can figure them out on your own. It's simply the times in between the next big event that we consider normal. So when you think about it, shouldn't we be better able to deal with change than what we do? I mean, if it's the actual normal in our lives, why don't we embrace it as readily as we do that favorite glass of wine or our extra snooze button hit in the morning? We learn so much from the changes in life. We have the opportunity to grow exponentially from these moments. Think back to when you were a kid. You had just learned how to swim. Sure, you know if you move your arms and kick your legs, you can go from one end of the pool to the other. It's just so safe hanging on to the side of the pool. The deep end is VERY deep and unknown. You see your friends diving off the board; they're laughing and splashing. It looks so fun and you want to be with them, but the edge of the pool is so safe. Now you have a choice, Stay where it's safe; stay where you know, or let go and embrace the unknown. At some point your need to be where there's excitement and fun outweighs your fear. So you let go. It's terrifying but exhilarating. You panic slightly. What if you've forgotten how to do this? What if you sink to the bottom of the pool? For a split second, you turn to look at the side of the pool. NO. There's no going back. So you plunge forward, your arms slicing through the water as muscle memory takes over. It's the best decision you have ever made, and you will remember this day for the rest of your life. 

So it goes. It's easy to stay where it's safe. It's when we choose to let go that the real adventures begin. For those of us who are planners, this can be a big deal. I am a planner. I had my life planned out from the moment I could form a thought. As I told a dear friend the other day, if I know ONE thing, it's that life will laugh at your plans. Life will look you in the face and tell you it does what it wants. The best advice I can give anyone is to learn to embrace the change. I have gone through a lot of major life changes in the very recent years. But I look at them now with fondness. I am happy that my life has been exciting because I never want to regret a thing. It's one go round. Make the best of it. Dear friends, let go. Let the change take you where it may. Learn, grow, and become a more whole being.

Until we meet again,

Sweet Steph Starr

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