Ina's Place

Hello, my dear readers!

I am so excited to announce with this post that I am officially launching my own website, where I plan to grow together with you. No matter the challenge or situation, I’m ready to stand by your side and help you in any possible way.

Change is scary. Change is unpredictable. Launching my own site is a big change for me. I’m doing a lot of things I never did before. My thoughts constantly jump from one idea to another and I see the world around me as one big hub of inspiration. Like, yesterday, I saw an elderly lady wearing brand new memory foam Nike. They weren’t the typical elderly-people leather shoes, but colourful and beautiful sneakers that are usually worn by younger people. She didn’t want to give up on the comfort of a good pair of shoes, so she bought Nike. And if that isn’t change, then I don’t know what is!

As you figured, in this post I’ll talk about change. Most of us dread the change and all of us have different reactions to this “phenomenon”. We, human beings are easily drawn to comfort. We seek the soft path to a solution. We don’t like risky or unknown ways. But life never asks us what we want. It just teaches us precious lessons.

If you are one who thinks that you don’t adapt well to changes in your life, allow me to kindly disagree with you. I want to show you that you are more than capable to accept change. In fact, you are doing it every day, without being too much aware of it. The change represents all the little choices you make every single day. For example, when you were little, you wanted to be an astronaut or teacher. When you were growing up, your skills and desires developed and changed. You learned about so many exciting things, which made you understand that there is a lot more to the world than there actually was when you were little. You grew into a wonderful human being with a rich imagination and concrete goals. To accomplish your goals, you went above and beyond. You changed. You became more experienced, then you adapted to those other needs you had. You went through very rough patches of your life, but you coped with them in your best way possible. No right or wrong, you made it through. And that, in itself is a huge change!

Of course, I won’t tell you that change is a piece of cake, because it’s actually hard, especially when it comes in a considerable amount or an unexpected wave, like a breakup, a job lay-off, a failure, or a sudden passing of a beloved person. These are, in fact, the situations that make us cringe more and we feel them to the fullest.

Nevertheless, what if I told you that change is a stepping stone to an amazing outcome? The process, in itself, is uncertain and makes us believe that things are going the wrong way. But, the result unveils itself through the most beautiful fruit of work, perseverance and patience. It doesn’t matter what methods you use and how many times you fail, all that matters is that you get a better result than expected.

I would also love to share with you a passage from the book “Primary Greatness”, written by Dr Stephen R. Covey, who dedicated his life to teaching and accomplishing his mission of instilling Primary Principles into every person he met or served.

He wrote:

“Unlike a rock that falls if dropped from a building, we are capable of choosing whether to jump. We are not unconscious beings to be merely pulled or pushed around by impersonal forces. As humans, we are endowed with the gifts of conscience, imaginations, self-awareness, and independent will. These are amazing gifts that animals do not possess. We can sense right from wrong. We can stand apart from ourselves and evaluate our own behaviour. We can live out of our imagination, the future we wish to create, instead of being held hostage by the memory of your past. And the more we exercise these endowments, the greater becomes our freedom to choose. We can choose to make principles work for us or against us. I revel in the ability to choose.

To live with change, we need principles that don’t change.”

Personally, I stand by all of the principles Dr Covey had written about (it’s like we’re brothers from another mother because everything he’s written about in his books represents my deepest beliefs in life!). We, humans, are powerful creatures that hold the key to what’s to come next. And, if change is the one coming along our way, then let it rain choices!

In the end, the idea is not to fear change. It is inevitable and, if we accept it, it grows us in so many ways. Now, don’t fight change (message to self, too). Take it as a positive challenge. Wake up every morning asking yourself: “Let’s see what’s next”, and allow yourself the luxury to live every moment the way you want it, with negative feelings and all. And be grateful for what you have accomplished.

And how do you deal with change in your life? I’d love to hear your story in comments down below.