Radical Change
Change can be a horrible thing. The idea
of change is often accompanied by a sense of dread. It is difficult for people
to change. When someone has to learn a new routine, or do something new, it can
be a very stressful time.
The simplest change can make us feel
awkward, uncomfortable. For example, last month, the photo sharing service
Instragram changed its logo....
....which instantly made people uncomfortable…
I am not particularly fond of change. There
is a saying, “If it is not broken, do not fix it.” In other words, if things
are working well the way they have in the past, why change?
Yet, where would the world be if we did
not change? If we truly resisted change we would be still be talking on the
original Alexander Graham Bell telephone…
….or driving the Henry Ford
model T automobile….
...or flying in the Wright Brother's airplanes.
Change is inevitable. Yet, why do we
resist it? There are many reasons why we resist change. We are comfortable with
the way things are. We do not want to have to learn something new. We fear the
outcome.
I have written about change before, four
years ago, on my first blog…..
As I wrote in that blog piece, it is
negative change that I do not like. Yet, I am learning that, while they are
prone to be scary and uncertain, radical changes can be positive.
My job is about to undergo a radical
change, in a matter of months. The library system I work for has received a technology
grant, which has enabled the library to purchase a new material
check out system.
This new system will forever change how the
library operates, in every library branch and service section. In my
department, it will make our jobs faster, and ten times more efficient. We will
be free to help library patrons throughout the library, not just from behind
the front desk.
Some currently working in the library system
are hesitant about this upcoming change. They are fearful of how our job will
change, and what that will be required of them. I for one am excited for this
change. More than that, I am ready for this change. I have been doing the same job every day,
for twenty-one years. I am ready to learn and do something new.
Perhaps the thing we find uncomfortable
about change is uncertainty. There is a fear factor that comes along with
change, the fear of the unknown. When a radical change comes along, it is
natural to pause and think, how will this
affect me?
There is another radical change looming
on the horizon for me, within my family. I have a sibling that is moving to a
new state, thousands of miles away, for a new work opportunity. The house they
are moving to has living space for my elderly parents as well. The option was
posed to my parents, to relocate along with my sibling. My parents are now
seizing this opportunity. They will shortly be leaving their home of 45 years and
relocate to a new state.
This move is a massive change for our
family, and for me. I have always lived in the same state as my parents. I have
never been more than a couple of hours away from them. Now they will be moving
thousands of miles away. I know that this move is the best thing for them. It
is an ideal situation for all involved. Yet, it is the very definition of a
radical change.
Thankfully, I will have other family
members living in my town. They are only a matter of minutes away. It won’t
seem as drastic a concept, having half of my family move halfway across the
country, with other family members nearby.
In this modern era we are lucky to have
modern conveniences at our disposal- cell phones to call and text one another,
e-mail messages to write back and forth, and video chatting, to communicate
face to face. When my family members move across the country, I will know that
they will only be a phone call away. And, truth be told, I have always wanted to
travel.
I will now have a new part of the country to visit.
I will now have a new part of the country to visit.
It is said that change is the only constant in life. Our worlds continually
change and evolve. If we do not change along with the world around us, therein lays
the rub. Perhaps it is not the change itself that makes a difference in our lives,
but our reactions to it. Radical change is going to happen. We might as well
change with it.
“We are living in a new age, a new time, when
things must be different.
You cannot continue to do what has always been done.
Something or someone must change. It might as well be you!
You have the
visions. You have the opportunity.
The only thing you need is the strength and
courage
to recognize that you have been chosen
for the awesome task of
implementing change.”
-Iyanla Vanzant
“If you don’t like something, change it.
If you can’t change it, change your attitude.”
-Maya Angelou
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