Change, that big scary word everyone is afraid of. Even people that say they love change, only mean they love change that they get to control. Change is the piece of life that strikes fear into those young and old. It doesn’t matter if it is going from preschool to kindergarten, switching careers, moving, or the menu at the old folk’s home being revamped, it all creates that nauseous feeling everyone wants to avoid. We often accept our current level of suffering and even if something isn’t great, we assume that a change will be worse. We will often go to great lengths to avoid change. We will live in places we don’t like, surround ourselves with people that hold us back, and miss out on great experiences all because of the fear that change induces.

The reality is we know change is going to happen and there is no way to avoid it. Some of the change we get to influence and tons of it we do not. What to do about this inevitability that we are trying so hard to avoid? What if we just change (see what I did there) the word to opportunity? Now instead of it being a big scary thing it’s a positive. Every change in life allows for an opportunity to improve how you were living or the actions you were taking. Some opportunities may be predictable and small having very little impact. Some opportunities may be unexpected and big. Not all will end up being a positive, some may even suck, but others, often the ones that are the biggest and the scariest can turn out to be the sweetest and most impactful.

When change is upon you, whether it is your decision or someone else’s, take that opportunity and make the best of it. Since change is scary I, like a lot of people, avoid it even if my gut is telling me something different. However, I am always amazed at how when change is forced upon me and I look at it as an opportunity what great things come out of it. It often forces us to get out of our comfort zone or challenges us to overcome an obstacle bringing out the best in us. Going forward instead of worrying about change keep your eyes open for opportunity.