What is change? Well, it is a word that instils fear into the hearts of some and excites others. It is a phenomenon that causes rediscovery and reflection; a time of beautiful uncertainty.
Metathesiophobia. It sounds like a big, complicated word but it is simply the fear of change. A phobia that causes people to avoid change because of a crippling fear of the unknown. What drives this fear of change? It can be caused by personal beliefs, previous experiences and familial or societal views. Change is what fixes mistakes, leads to new opportunities, makes life exciting and revolutionizes the world. Without change, we would have no improvement, and without improvement, every single mistake or failure would be debilitating.
People fear change, even when good, as it pushes them to stand outside their comfort zone, realize their flaws and make efforts, with no promise of things becoming better. Adapting to new environments is always hard and leaving familiar or comfortable environments behind is even harder. The nagging fear of failing in this new environment envelops us, preventing us from even attempting to change. This fear holds us back until a massive failure or crisis finally forces us to make changes. Why do we wait?
Now, there are several types of change. There is environmental change, moving to a new country, or city or even just shifting houses. Transformational changes are radical changes involving completely reinventing one’s life. Personal change, be it emotional or physical. Introducing new practices in one’s daily routine is also a type of change. Adapting to any kind of new change is scary and there are several ways to make change easier.
The secret is: we have to be comfortable with the feeling of 'not knowing' . Some variables in life are out of our control. Even if you struggle, you can become better. You must trust that even if there are some hardships along the way, you can combat them healthily and successfully. We need to remember times when change helped us make our lives better. It could be something as small as adopting a new habit or something as major as moving schools. Anything that restores your belief in the concept that is changing. Investigating your fears and finding the root of them may help you better understand why change scares you and further help you combat it. Accepting your reality and making the best of your situation is one of the best ways of making change easier.
Change is hard at first, making us question ourselves and all that we’ve done in our lives, messy in the middle, as we try to find ourselves once again, and beautiful in the end, when we finally emerge on the other side, victorious.
This article is for all students facing change, be it a 5th grader about to enter secondary school or a 10th grader about to start anew in a completely different institution. Fear of change is normal and something that everyone feels. It is natural to be doubtful of new experiences when you are comfortable in your current environment. You are not alone, and you never will be.
Change is always a chance to improve
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