“ALL CHANGE IS A MIRACLE TO CONTEMPLATE; BUT IT IS A MIRACLE WHICH IS TAKING PLACE EVERY DAY”

HENRY DAVID THOREAU

Change is part of our everyday lives and no more escapable than the passage of time. Through change we develop as individuals: physically, mentally and emotionally. Some of the changes that we experience are gradual and some more immediate. Certain change is welcome and other change not so. Some is significant and others less so. And some change is inescapable and forced upon us. But all change affects our lives to some extent. Change, along with time, is baked into our existence. And without change we would not survive as a species or grow as individuals.

But change can be difficult.

Change requires us to make choices between different and sometimes limited options. Sometimes those choices are simple and evident and at other times the choices we make have life altering consequences with less than clear outcomes. And still in other situations we have no option but to move forward even though our choices are limited. The common thread that runs through all these events is that in order to deal effectively with change we have to make a decision.

And that can generate conflict.

Conflict in deciding between competing options is a natural and healthy element involved with growth that leads to more thoughtful decision making. Resolving conflict by accepting change and making decisions moves us forward while unresolved conflict is an ineffective, unhealthy path that at best delays decision making.

But often times doubt stalls our ability to make decisions.

Doubt about what direction to take when facing change is to be expected. It allows us to take pause to evaluate our options. Having second thoughts about making a change can be an outcome of many factors including a reluctance to change the pattern of our lives or a fear of the unknown. But in the course of change doubt must eventually be overcome. If it is not we end up in a situation where unhealthy stress is generated more by the inability to make a decision than by the consequences of the decisions that we make.

And the accumulation of stress is not a healthy condition.

•Familiarity heuristic

•Previous failure, fear of failure

•Avoidance of stress*

•Fear of the unknown (uncertainty)

•Lack of trustful information or trustfull source

•Outside of personality

•Fear of losing the present (sense of ones self)

•Vicarious experiences (watching others struggle with change)

•Culture of non-change (culture and communication)

•Too old or too tired for change (what?)

Stress

Stress is a natural reaction that is experienced in everyday life.

Anxiety

Health

References

Change

Inevitable and variable. Involves choices or decisions that involve some level of:

Conflict

A clash of options and motives leading to:

Stress

A physiological response to conflict (real or imagined), possibly leading to:

Anxiety

A prolonged feeling of worry about an event with an uncertain outcome. Potentially affecting:

Health

Resulting in a negative impact on health (as defined by WHO)