The older I get, I find myself becoming more and more opposed to change. Is this an age thing? A mentality thing? A combo? Our lives are bubbles and we live happily inside of them fearing anything that might pop our closed-off shelter of a cocoon. I actually have a shred of empathy for old people stuck in their ways who start every other sentence with ‘back in my day’. Routine and normal equate to comfort. Change requires adapting, branching out and exploring your horizons. Change requires thinking in a different way and, above all, it requires a concerted effort.
The new year especially inspires people to make changes with resolutions, a clean slate, and the ‘new year-new me’ blah blah blah mantra. So now is a better time than ever to be at peace with getting uncomfortable and making changes. They say 21 days makes a habit, but you have to fight for it because playing tug of war against your comfort zone, old routines and complacency isn’t easy. Trust me, I’ve been trying to make flossing a habit for 5 years now. You would think after the amount of times my mother has turned gum disease into a conversation I would be more determined. Don’t worry ma, I’m gonna floss as soon as I’m finished with this. Make a schedule, hold yourself accountable and reorganize your priorities.
The older we get, the more we become content with ourselves. We have our likes, our dislikes, where we frequent, who we hang out with, our go-tos…you know, the usual suspects. For instance, I like eating out of bowls. If it can be eaten out of a bowl, yes please. I like listening to really loud music when I work out which is why I still can’t wrap my head around yoga, also I’m afraid I’ll fart. Possibly terrified. #Fact If my water glass gets less than 1/3 full, I get anxiety. There are certain places I go to for specific items and if those said items are unavailable I have a tiny 3-year-old WHY WON’T YOU LET ME LIVE MY LIFE?! tantrum. I don’t like listening to music when I don’t know the words. It makes me feel disconnected, which is why I usually make up my own lyrics. My friends love it. (Sarcasm)
Change comes in all sorts of different ways. We will be forced to change, we will seek change, and there are times we will want to change but, like the world, our lives are continually evolving. Change is inevitable. Embrace the change!! Even if you don’t like it, sometimes that’s the reality you have to face. We change our diets, our routines, jobs, friends, mentality, apartments. Change comes in a million different shapes and sizes. We all live within a certain type of radius. Imagine how much of the world we miss out on by making the same choices over and over again.
Travel to places you’ve never been instead of retracing your tracks, try new food (even if you have to gag into a napkin for 20 minutes and pretend like you’re just coughing), call someone you miss, get that haircut you’ve always wanted but never thought you could pull off-I promise it’ll grow back, try going a different route to work- even if it’s a little bit slower, order a drink you’ve never had before, text a friend just to tell them you’re thinking about them – I mean, who doesn’t want to know when they’re being thought of? When you do these things, you open yourself up to so many more possibilities. Recognize the difference between a groove and a rut. <–yes, I just came up with that and I’d be lying if I didn’t say I was slightly impressed with myself on a Thursday.
As easy as staying in your comfort zone may feel, who wants to be predictable? Beyond the fact that you would be a terrible chess player, who wants to be dull? I once told a friend, “he’s not shiny enough for you”. I may have been drunk at the time but I believe that statement has some merit. Find the sparkles around you. Surprise others, surprise yourself. Say yes to adventure and the unknown. Raise your hand high and volunteer to change. Especially but not only if you’re unhappy with your life, it’s gotta happen. I speak to myself the most when I ask: how can you possibly expect your life to change if you won’t?
**RETROSPECTACULAR** 
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