Seasons and Changes
Before today’s blog post, a quick update:
The purpose of this blog was to see if I could discipline myself to blog AT LEAST every other day for AT LEAST 30 days.
Well, I am proud to say that I have accomplished that goal!
Yay!
But that’s not the end. I am going to be keeping this blog for a really long time yet, I just may not publish an article every other day all the time.
Okay, on to my topic for today.
Today was gorgeous! Beautiful weather, blue skies, warm temperatures, and pretty fall colors. That’s right. Like it or not, the leaves are starting to turn yellow, brown, orange, and red. It’s super pretty, but at the same time, it’s saddening. Doesn’t it feel like summer just started?
Isn’t it amazing how things change? And isn’t even more amazing how we don’t usually like those changes? I’ve had a lot of change in my life, from moving, to graduating high school, to working, and lots of smaller things. I haven’t had one of those major life changes, but I’ve had enough change in my life to know I don’t really enjoy it all that much.
And why is that?
Why don’t we like to change? Sometimes the decision is ours, and sometimes it’s not, but we still tend to dislike it. There’s just something about not having to change that’s comforting to me. I like things to stay familiar, comfortable.
Maybe that’s it. Change can be scary. It’s different. It’s unknown. It’s uncomfortable.
We’re all living in our own comfort zones, and expanding them is hard sometimes. Venturing into the unknown is rarely done without hesitancy. Because we’d rather stay warm and cozy rather than risk ruining all that is familiar to us right now.
And I get it. I’ve been there and I know exactly how that feels. It’s just so much easier to settle for what we have now than going out and doing something different. Something we’ve never done before. What if trying something new permanently changes our comfort zone? We don’t like to think about that because our current comfort zone is perfect just the way it is.
Or is it?
Something just occurred to me… If we aren’t willing to risk change, than we’re settling for what we have right now, and saying that’s good enough. But I know it’s not. And if we don’t change something, how can we expect our lives to improve and form into what we’re supposed to be? I don’t know about you, but I know God made me for a specific purpose, a special calling. How in the world am I supposed to accomplish it if I’m not willing to change?
Sometimes we’re just afraid of being different. But different than who? From everybody else? If you want different results than everybody else, then you have to BE different than everybody else! You have to be willing to make some changes that not everybody else makes. And sometimes these choices and changes may seem crazy, and everybody else will tell you so. But do you know why they think it’s crazy? Because they’re not willing to do it themselves. They don’t see the value, so how could they encourage you?
In fact, a pretty good sign that you’re making the right changes is this: people will tell you you’re going the wrong way. Because when you go against the herd, you appear to be going the wrong way. And it will feel UNCOMFORTABLE. That’s just a given. I mean, it’s pretty much the definition of “stepping outside of your comfort zone.” What happens when you step outside your comfort zone? It gets bigger, and you become stronger.
Now I’m not saying to to random illegal stuff because “it’s different,” okay? I’m saying to do the things you know need to get done in order to get the goals you want.
Do we want results “just like everybody else?” I don’t. And I’m assuming since you’ve read this far, that you don’t either. So, just remember this: if you want different results, you have to do something different. If you want results just like everybody else’s, then do what everybody else does. We can’t expect our circumstances to change for the better if we are not willing to get outside our comfort zones.
That’s just how it is.
I always need to be reminded of that, and to be reminded to push myself harder to do the things necessary to get where I want to go.
Because to make a difference, you’ve got to BE different!
Until next time,
Hope Frances
