Friday, February 16, 2007

Change is like vertigo


I've always been pretty good at weathering change. When I look back at the big changes or events in my life, the thing I recognize that always got me through was a disinclination to look back. I'm not one to ruminate on the past; I rationalize, categorize and file experiences in the back of my brain for future reference. I don't usually sit and think about how things were before, or if I do it's from a place of detatched curiosity - How did we get from there to here? Honestly, it's usually that simple with me. I'm not so complicated of a gal.

So, it was this I was thinking about today as I was trying to figure out why the heck I'm having such a tough time transitioning out of my job at Lyon. I'm the change QUEEN people! I'm always looking to change something; I truly believe in the old adage "A change is as good as a rest."

The answer of course is not all that simple just as life isn't all that simple as you get older. The complexity of your emotions and reactions are shaped by breadth and depth of your experiences. The more experiences you have, it follows that the more complex your emotions on any given subject will be. We all know that, typically, the older you get the harder change becomes for you. Letting go, allowing things to just "be", get's harder because of the fear of what might happen, which is fed by the knowledge of what has happened in the past.

So, it occurs to be that change is like vertigo. Here you are trying to climb this mountain and your fear, of course, is falling. So, what do they tell you to do? Don't look down.

To get over a fear of falling, don't look down. To get over a fear of change, don't look back.

1 comment:

e said...

The other option might be to just get real straight about what it is you're really afraid of, let it go, and move on. Try it, it's really powerful and freeing!

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