Change can come in many forms, a new haircut, a job move, taking off on a
trip, saying goodbye to a relationship or just taking a chance on “what
if?”. But change requires risk and sometimes losing control and this
makes us fear and regret our decision at first. Stepping off your old
path will take you outside that comfort zone, the path of least
resistance where you may have sat quite happily for years. It can feel
like stepping out of the light and heading deep down into the dark
Change shakes things up and plays with your mind but the possibilities, the unknown is often where the life is, making it worth the risk.
To say change is easy would be a lie as it takes guts and persistence and belief that it is the right thing to do. It impacts on your heart and your mind and initially can cause angst and regret for things past as you move through it. As Rene Descartes said in the seventeenth century “if you would be a real seeker after truth, it is necessary that at least once in your life you doubt, as far as possible, all things”.
Change is a significant ingredient in life and knowing that is like being given a key to an adventure.
We are creatures of habits, brain experts equate it to the fight or flight and the security switch in our brain that keeps us cosseted in the routines we have, but the obsession with safety is holding us back.
The unknown could be bad for us and our brain echoes this on repeat inside our heads, hoping that we will listen. Our habits and our life on repeat cocoons us in a safe and secure warmth, but all too often we are stifling our own possibilities. Accepting the comfort and ease of our status quo and lifestyle over our own growth and the possibility for exploring and finding more to life.
Many don’t realize until mid way or the end that they could have lived a different life.
Some like me are change addicts who once they are safe and secure and in a routine want to break free. I have always been that way I think, I possess this thirst for growth in all things from travel, work, art, relationships and knowledge. Perhaps it’s because I am an adventurer on a quest for what “I don’t know yet?”. I am sure there is a category I fit, but I don’t have a recognised term for my change affliction. I am my own therapist of course and writing is my tool for self reflection, soI have coined the term “discoveristocrat” for my inherent nature.
Change can make you a nomad so make sure your change driver are assessed.
As soon as someone says “you have a great life or you have done well” it translates to me as “I can do this with my hands behind my back, where is the challenge”. My most recent change has been rediscovering midway through my life that I love to write and believing that my stories and advice can help others, so I’m writing a book. I had to put myself out there as otherwise it’s me I would be failing.
My brain has always been drawn to change, to problems to troubleshoot and to find solutions. I managed and implemented change professionally, re-organising business structures as well as IT systems for many years. Essentially managing risk and impact and putting control in place to manage chaos. In my career I changed roles at least every 2 to 4 years, often taking on projects that nobody else would touch, somehow attracted to the chaos and the challenge.
So it is more than ironic to me that when there is control and order in my own life I see that often as a push to change my path. Routine, repetition and autopilot somehow gives me discomfort as I am an adventurer with discovery at my heart.
Change for change sake is not a path I follow there has to be a driver, a feeling that makes you want to reach out for something more.
When I hear that voice that says inside my head “you are safe now” it translates to me as “where is the challenge in my life and what’s next”. I step back and review where I am at and think could I do more, enjoy life more, expand my mind and be more often the answer is “Yes”. So I put my change hat on and off I go! as a new adventure beckons “tallyho”.
Let’s see where this one takes me? I am definitely on an adventure and so here we go, as once again I “step off”.
Originally published at freeyourflourish.com