Why is Making Changes in Your Life So Hard to Do?

Whoever coined the phrase: "You can't teach an old dog new tricks" may have been a little shortsighted, because that's not always true. Now if they would have said a "stubborn" old dog, I might be more prone to agree with them.

This expression is meant to emphasize how difficult it can sometimes be to make changes in our lives. We can find a variety of advice and opinion articles that talk about the importance of making needed changes if we want to improve our quality of life.

Unfortunately, as badly as we may want to make those changes, we still might find them nearly impossible to make. But that doesn't mean we should not even bother to try.

Instead, we need to remember another old saying. The one that says: "Rome wasn't built in a day." Even when change is hard, it is still possible.

Change requires the right frame of mind

In order to make any type of notable change in our life, it takes the right frame of mind. We first have to be open to change. This is not an automatic process, especially for people who tend to be set in their ways.

Both me and my younger brother Craig were born under the sign of Taurus the bull. For that reason alone, we've always been viewed as being stubborn as two bulls in a pen.

As much as I'd like to say those assessments were wrong about us, I'd be lying if I did. I acknowledge the fact that I'm often stubborn about things, so I know that stubborn people have a difficult time with change.

Sometimes I'm afraid to change a process that's working for me, even though another way might actually be more effective.

For instance, my son is the most nerdy, techy, computer guy I know, and everything computer or software related has to be the latest version for him.

He either laughs at me, or gets on my case periodically about refusing to learn how to use new programs. I don't use the most current version of my Paint.net graphic program (nor will I upgrade to some better or equivalent software), but what's worse, I don't even use the old version properly.

I create all my graphics for everything I do online, all in Microsoft Word (an older version :-). Word is a program designed particularly for text and documents, not graphics.

When I'm done working in Word, then I pop the images into the Paint.net program and crop and size them there. That's my process and it works for me (for years).

I enjoy doing it that way and I've learned to master the process, so I'm hesitant about moving on to a better option, when my knowledge will be at newbie level.

Change Can Be Necessary

In the above example, you might agree with me and wonder: Why bother fixing what's not broken. Maybe we're both right; or maybe we're both just stubborn.

This is just one example of how hard it can be to make changes when you're so used to having or doing something a certain way. But this is only with reference to a minor change.

Deciding whether or not to change from one computer program to another is not the kind of life change that can cause any real anxiety. But this example provides a little insight into why change can sometimes be so difficult.

The bottom line is - at least in this instance - we are creatures of habit, and change is often difficult, just because it tends to involve the unknown.

That is why it stands to reason that one of the best ways to fend off our fear of change, is by learning as much about a situation as possible, before we actually make a change.

• If you are facing the decision of making a change, do the following:
• Find out all you can about whatever the change involves
• Familiarize yourself with every aspect of the situation, so you won't have to worry about any surprises.
• Embrace whatever benefits the new situation will provide

Final Thoughts

At the end of the day, change only needs to be as difficult as you make it. If you take the time to find out all you need to know about the changes you plan to make, you'll discover your anxiety about change was all based on the unknown.

But once you're armed with accurate knowledge, change can become something to look forward to.

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