Try something different

There's an old saying that ‘change is as good as a holiday’. It’s a simple idea, but if we take a second to reflect on what it really means, it holds a world of opportunity. Basically, if we constantly do the same thing over and over, a simple change can be as restorative as a vacation.

Sometimes change is small…and sometimes it’s big. Either way, change is a guaranteed part of life. The question is whether we look forward to it, or if we shy away from it.

Last week I left a comfortable job at a company that I’d been working at for over two decades. I loved the company - it has been a massive part of my life and identity. But it felt like it was time to move on to something different. A lot of emotions go with a shift of this magnitude - I was 23 when I joined the company and I’m leaving 21 years later.

That decision carried a fair amount of uncertainty, and my natural reaction was to wonder what might go wrong.

But then I started to worry less about what might go wrong and I started to get excited for what could go right! It was also an opportunity to trust that I had the resilience to adapt, figure things out, and thrive in the unknown.

It reminded me of some of my past travel experiences. When I first went overseas by myself, I was nervous. What if I got sick? Robbed? Lost? All of these fears surfaced, and then I started thinking about how amazing it was going to be to go somewhere new (Switzerland in that case!).

Travel is the great educator, perhaps the greatest educator (I’m biased because I worked in travel for so long!). But I honestly can’t think of a better way for us to learn, expand our horizons, try new things, meet new people, and get out of our comfort zone. Can you?

And that’s why change can be as a good as a holiday.

Why do we tend to fear change?

There are a range of psychological reasons that we resist change. Here are a few:

First of all, our brains are wired for predictability and stability because being predictable and stable traditionally increased our chances of survival. Change introduces uncertainty, which can trigger a threat response in the part of our brain that generates stress and fear.

Secondly, we tend to resist change because we have a strong sense of loss aversion. That means that we fear losing what we have more than we desire potential gains.

Next, change demands effort, and our brains naturally prefer to conserve energy. If we have to think about new ways of doing things, it requires extra effort, so often this leads to the mentality that it’s “better the devil you know”. It’s just less draining.

Uncertainty also brings the risk of making mistakes or not being good at something new. We tend to fear failure and that can raise our stress and anxiety levels.

But, each time we step into the unknown, we strengthen our resilience muscles. We learn to trust ourselves, adjust, and grow. The key is to get past these innate barriers and move forward with confidence.

Shifting to get excited for the unknown.

I say this often, but there is immense power in a simple reframe of the moment. Here are a few mindset shifts to make change something to look forward to:

Normalize discomfort. We can brush our teeth with a different hand, or take a different path when we next go for a walk/run. Believe it or not, this can also enrich our life - we cross paths with new people, we see things from new perspectives. These are tiny tiny adjustments, but they add up to a different experience. Every small act of discomfort strengthens our ability to face bigger challenges with confidence. And this is how resilience grows.

We can learn from others who have walked this path before us. I remember when my wife was pregnant with our first son, I was petrified at the prospect of being a terrible father. And then I remembered how many people had done this before me. I simply reminded myself that: “if they can raise a kid, then I can definitely do it!”. There will always be mentors and leaders who have made the leap before us. We can find them and get curious about how they went about it.

Lastly, if possible, we should surround ourselves with people who are ‘change positive’ so that we can feed off that positive energy. These are the people who are open and genuinely curious about what might happen and will help us make the leap. They’re energized and supportive, rather than being negative and anxious. And that positivity will help nurture our resilience.

Change is inevitable, but suffering through it doesn’t have to be. The more we embrace change as a chance to grow, innovate, and evolve, the more thrilling it becomes. And each new time we try something different, we become more resilient. Just like our next travel adventure, the opportunities are endless and exciting.

Until next time friends, stay resilient!

Carre @ Resilient Minds

PS - Taylor Sheridan didn’t fear change. Even as an average actor, he looked at scriptwriting as an opportunity to do something completely new and was energized by it. That created the wildly successful world of Yellowstone. Read the story here.