Change Is Here to Stay

It is often said that the two things that are constant in life are change and taxes.

Change is inevitable and happens whether we like or not. It happens on a physical level as we grow older each day, it happens on an emotional level as we go through life and it happens on a professional level as the work place is ever evolving so we have to gain new skills to remain relevant.

It happens on an economic level as our incomes rise and fall with the market conditions, investment values, age or career changes.

Change is also happening in the world at large. We see countries that have exploded with infrastructures in the past twenty to thirty years and we see others that have stayed the same.

Lately we are seeing a world where people are demanding for change, there is the ‘Black lives matters’ movement demanding for change; before then it was the ‘Me Too’ campaign with people speaking up against sexual harassment.

In Nigeria, the youth are currently on the streets demanding for change because the brutality they have suffered in the hands of some unsavoury elements within the Police force reached a tipping point. So they are demanding for a much needed change.

Once the demand for change started in one area, required changes in other areas became more glaring so their demands also changed. That’s how it goes.

This reminds me of when you make a decision to redecorate a part of your house or make some design changes. Your intention might be small and focused to start with; but change in one area has a way of highlighting that changes are needed in other areas.

The one thing the whole world has in common now is its response to the global Covid-19 pandemic. This has forced changes across all levels and in every country. Opposition parties are at each other’s throats challenging the responses to the pandemic, people have demonstrated to show their displeasures and the media has had many field days.

A lot of changes have been welcome and some unwelcome. People have felt restricted in their lives with their emotional and mental health negatively impacted.

Some people have accepted the changes because they don’t have a choice and consequently feel powerless while others are grateful for life so made a choice not to focus on the negative aspects.

I see many who have fully embraced the ‘new norm’ perhaps because their desires to stay healthy and alive far outweigh their perceptions of the restrictions.

There is a correlation between our mental health and out attitude to change especially when that change is inevitable, unavoidable and outside of our control.

If we refuse to accept unavoidable change, we create a world of misery for ourselves. Lately I have seen people moan about changes at the gym and other public places but they’ve got no choice if they want to use the facilities. The only alternatives are to be in a great head space or in an awful head space – the choice is ours to make.

I love how Socrates put it when he said, “The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”

Some changes need to be understood before we embrace them, some changes need to be demanded for or insisted upon, some changes need to be rejected and others need to be fully accepted and implemented.

The secret is in analysing the change correctly and understanding our responsibilities to others whilst deciding our responses.

As many countries put tighter measures in place to prevent another wave of the pandemic, we are in for yet more restrictions and changes. Again while they may be unwelcome, the choices we are being asked to make are really about health and life.

We have a duty to not let the changes and the pandemic break us. We have a responsibility to take care of our physical, mental and emotional health. This starts with our attitude to the changes that may be imposed on us. Let’s be determined to get out on the other side safely and sanely.

Thanks for reading and sharing my post. Have a fantastic week and I will see you next week.