Why Fear Change?
Today is the second day of COMMEP’S (Council of
Management Educators and Practitioners in the Philippines) 25th
National Convention. I am thankful that I have been given the privilege to join
it. There were two technical sessions.
The First one was given by Dr. Susan Labutap of CHED. She discussed about ASEAN
Integration and the preparations made by the agency to address some of the
concerns about it. The second speaker was Mr. Pocholo Gonzales, a voice actor
and a motivational speaker at the same time. Instantly I became a fan.
Although Dr. Labutap’s talk was insightful and very
relevant, I was mostly drawn to the talk of Mr. Gonzales. His talent is
remarkable. However, it is not his ability to change his voice that captured my
interest as a listener. My reflection on his talk may not be the focus of his
presentation as it deals with generations and how they have evolved. These are
the changes he discussed. But his insights made me question why many of us fear
change. I, for one, am not comfortable with change. I thought I was. I thought
I was brave enough, but lately, I am unsure.
Why deal with change when you have the option to
stay where you are, do the things you are used to and be within the walls of
your comfort zone. Why change anything when you are doing well, right?
Often, we’d rather play it safe. We do not want to
risk something especially if it is going to affect what we are so used to
doing. But how are we going to know if something is worth pursuing if we don’t
try? Would we rather live asking ‘what if’?
What is most fearful about change is the
uncertainty it brings. It is the consequence brought by the change. Am I going
to be pleased with my choices or will I end up regretting them? Is it going to
be how I imagined it or will I be disappointed instead? If I don’t like what
happens, what is there left to do?
Uncertainty is dreadful. It can rob you off your
peace. But is it really that bad? Haven’t we dealt with wrong choices and moving
on in our lives? What is the worst thing that could happen?
The reason why we fear uncertainty so much is
because we are caught up with what could go wrong instead of looking forward to
what could go right. Change will surely affect our lives. There are some
adjustments we need to go through. It will not be easy but it definitely is not
impossible.
It is never easy to deal with change but often, we
need to do it because of what we want to our lives. Although we remain unsure,
we just have to believe in our ability to deal with whatever our choices bring.
But this does not mean that we become reckless. I believe the best way to deal
with change is to prepare ourselves for it. We need to be ready in all aspects.
Change is inevitable; we are fully aware that
nothing remains the same. If you want to have something different in your life,
then you have to make a change.
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