why change?

There are only two responses most people have when you start to talk about change. And they are complete opposites. Some people really hate change. In fact they will do almost anything they can to avoid it. And when it is thrust upon them by circumstances and life, it really throws them for a loop. Stress levels top out and emotions run high. You may know someone like this.

The other type is those who like change. These are the types of people that the change haters dislike. It is like the saying goes “There are those who like to get up early, and those who hate those who like to get up early.” People who like change can go to extremes of just changing anything and everything because things haven’t changed in at least an hour. And it can be a simple need to change something once a year. But these people need change.

And these two types of people often frustrate and argue with one another. Myself I am a change lover. I have to have things change because I get bored easily, and start looking for something new. My wife is a change hater. She is most at rest when things stay the same.

Now neither personality type is bad. We are the way God wired us. And we need each other deeply. If it wasn’t for my wife holding me down at times, I would run and change anything I could. And if it wasn’t for me, my wife would never change a thing. We need each other to succeed.

In life change is necessary. We cannot live without it. Everything in life that is healthy grows. If it isn’t growing, it isn’t healthy. You don’t have to tell your garden or your kids to grow. If they are healthy, they simply grow. And growth requires change. No change means no growth.

We tend to settle into what we are comfortable with. Which is why most dislike change. It requires them to move their comfort zone. Even those of us who like change dislike moving our comfort zone. We all desire comfort. But is your comfort holding you back from growth? It is one of the dangers.

A person who stops growing doesn’t just stand still. In life there are only two choices. Growth and decline. If your not growing, then your declining. There is no park in life. Just forward and reverse.

So are we growing, or settling for the status quo? Funny thing is status quo is Latin for ‘the mess we are in’. Are we settling for the mess because it is what we know? If we desire to grow as people then we can never stop growing. And growing requires change. To borrow the slogan from milk “Always Grow, Grow Always”. So here is to change.