Don't fear change. Do it!

Do you ever feel like your life is a series of routines?  You wake up at the same time every day, you take the same route to work every day, you expect the same people to email you with the same complaints, you go home, and you do it all over again?  Routine after routine after routine.  This type of consistency can get boring, so we may find ourselves itching for a little shake-up.  But be careful what you wish for; change it is a-comin'!!

There is a lot to be said about having a routine.  You can stay organized a little easier (if you choose to be organized in the first place - but thats a whole other issue).  Your friends and family have familiarity with what's going on in your life, so they always know when or where to find you.  You learn to use the least amount of energy to complete a task because you know who will be looking out for you.  You also know when to kick it into high gear, and who might be watching you.  You know when your boss is going to be come by for a mysterious piece of candy.  You know when days are going to suck, you know when days are going to be easy to get through.  All of these things can be appreciated - if you wish to appreciate them. 

It's when all of this routine goes away, when you actually shake things up, and you have to find the balance - that's what makes people fearful.  But for what?  Why does change have to be so bad?  Scary yes, because you don't know what the future may hold.  But bad?  I disagree. 

I started a new job this month!  Woop woop!  It's very exciting to be in a place where I feel like I am stretching my brain again.  It's also terrifying because I am no longer complacent.  I no longer know what my day is going to look like.  I have to re-learn my routines, and for someone who is very much Type A, re-working something that seemed to have been working just fine in the first place, sucks!!  But this too shall pass.  And my new routines will become second nature, and I'll be back to that perfect balance.

There are some people that adapt very well to change; there are others that are not so good at it.  The problem, I think, lies in the fact that change has such a negative connotation.  People are afraid of the unknown.  But change isn't always bad.  Like this new job - this change is phenomenal.  All of the little changes that come with the big change can be trying, but overall the change is good.  So why is it that "change" has been deemed evil, and people fear it?  Is it that we have seen change depicted negatively throughout our years?  Do our parents or our parents parents resist change?

Whatever it is that might make you afraid of making a change, face it!  I have seen some incredible and amazing things happen when people choose to look change in the face.  I have been introduced to some pretty awesome people as a result of change - both personally and professionally.  So why not embrace change?  Let's shake up our own lives, and start new routines together.  What do we have to lose?