Change...?

When something is taken away from us, are we empowered to do things differently?

One of my good friends shared this simple yet powerful story about her car breaking down and how she was forced to act differently to get things done. Maya, my friend, had a car breakdown and her mechanic wanted few days to fix it. This huge inconvenience (if you know what I mean) has forced her to be creative in her daily life. She said she decided to do the 20-minute walk to work instead of catching the bus. What blew her mind was this incident has forced her to do things differently and be more organised. Maya had to pack her lunches the previous night and had to wake up way early in the morning to have enough time for the commute. However, she said that 20-minute walk was one of the best things she has done in a while. She was in awe of the beautiful sunny Melbourne mornings (here in Melbourne, they are hard to come by and very far apart) and the freshness of the morning air, the noise of passing traffic, the rustling tress on the sidewalk… for her, it was refreshing and a blessing in disguise.

Generally speaking, I am not a huge fan of change. I think most of us feel the same. But life is such it rocks our boat sometimes. It is not fun. Is change really good for us? Let’s find out. When things are taken away from us or when we are forced to change something, usually we respond in two ways. Either we crawl and hide in fear, or we get empowered to do something about it. It may be a daily inconvenience such as my friend’s car, or in may be a health diagnosis, maybe you got redundant at work. Whatever that is taken away from us, we grieve for our losses, get upset or angry about it. Sometimes the situation is so dire that we are forced to do something to change the situation.

Some may say being empowered and embracing change is better for you. May be. Don’t get me wrong, I am all up for being a better version of ourselves and owning and embracing challenges and changes life throws at us. But I think there is no right or wrong way to respond to a loss or a crisis, an unexpected SOS from life. The way you choose to respond is the right way for you. We are simply human beings  with all our worries, cares and insecurities, doing the best we can, and your best has to be enough in any situation.

 Adversities in life force us to change and grow, come out of our comfort zone. In most instances when you look back, you can see how change has positively affected your life; helped you to come out of your rut, be creative and positively change who you are.  However, in some instances, change also can breaks you to pieces and makes you frustrated and sick of life; you might find yourself in a pothole not knowing what to do, paralysed by fear and being angry with yourself.

But the beauty of any adversity in life is that you have a choice how to respond to it. If you hit the rock bottom, there is no other way to go except upwards. Similarly, when change knocks on your door, you can respond either with fear, or you can get up and show up for yourself and for your loved ones: you can keep one step in front of the other to do something to change your situation for better.

Simply put, it all boils down to one simple thing. Change can either make you bitter or it can make you better. Which path to choose is totally up to you. Even when you feel that you do not have a choice, the choice is always yours. So, choose wisely.

P.S. Maya got her car back and she is back to her usual daily commute. But now she goes for 30-minute daily walks to re-live her amazing outdoor experience.

Change is good for you. xoxo