Why Change Is So Hard For Most People

Change...it is a word that most people do not like.  It causes people to have nightmares, cold sweats, stomachaches, and many other things when they think of anything that requires change.  I have never understood this, because I just am not a person that freaks out at change, in fact I am the opposite.  I freak out when things don't change.  I would much rather change my situation than be unhappy.  I would much rather change then put down roots, because I find that putting down roots sometimes hurts.  It is hard to be a person that likes change.  It is hard to be a person that likes change, but doesn't always adapt well to change.  But I am. 

I long for things to be changed up.  I do not want to continue in the same old pattern day in and day out.  I just can't do it.  To have the same routine day after day makes me cringe and want to change things up. 

This year has been very tough.  Tonight I was reminded again that not everyone likes change.  In fact people will be downright mean when change must happen.  We all deal with it differently.  Some of us revert back to 2 year old temper tantrums, some of us just ignore it and pretend it isn't happening, others scream at it, still others try to force it to not change, and the best of us embrace it with open arms. 

There is no way I can be considered in that last category because as much as I love change I don't embrace it at all.  I hate when my schedule gets messed up, even though I will be the first to go on an unexpected adventure.  I hate when someone acts completely different than they normally do, even though I encourage people to step outside of the box. 

Why are we so inclined to hate change?  What is it about our lives, or about our past that makes us want everything to stay exactly the same? 

Comfort, I think that it boils down to we love to be comfortable.  We love to be experts at life.  If things change then we are no longer experts.  We no longer know what is going on and where we stand in life.  We no longer can predict what is going to happen.  Without predictions we might fail.  Failure is looked down on.  No one wants to fail because we have been taught that failure is wrong.  That failure means weakness.  But does it? 

I don't think so.  I have failed so many times.  I have misspoken, I have lied, I have regretted the words that came out of my mouth, I have lost friends, I have lost trust, I have failed.  It doesn't make me weak, it doesn't make me unlovable, it makes me human. 

Change is hard.  What if it wasn't though?  What if we learned from early on to embrace change?  What if we welcomed change with open arms even if it meant that we might fail?  Or that we might not know ALL the answers.  What if???