Let It Happen

No matter how old you get, you and your life are going to constantly change. I’ve had a lot of change over the years so I’ve had to adapt (whether I did it in a healthy way or not is another story). I am an enneagram six aka known as the loyalist. I believe this has made it hard sometimes to welcome the change. A lot of my change has involved the people in my life. I don’t usually keep people for very long, whether it be that they die (which has been a lot of the time) or because life got in the way. Each person I have connected with means so much to me. Some I might have just spent time with a few occasions, but yet I carry them with me as if we’ve been best friends for life. People change. I can’t always control who stays or leaves my life.

More times than not it has done me more harm trying to hold on to the period of my life that they were a part of. It’s hard to find the balance between remembering those memories but not dwelling on them and the period of life they represent.

Lately, I have been trying to embrace the time that I am in now instead of dwelling on a time that is on its way out of the door. When I spend less time thinking about the past, I can think about the future and where I want to see myself.

When you put your faith into something other than yourself, that’s when things change and you’re able to go out of your comfort zone. In this past month, I have been analyzing my life and working on getting over some things that were beginning to hold me back.

I think a part of me is always afraid the future isn’t going to be better than that of the past, or the people that will come into my life. Things evolve and that’s good even if it can sometimes be hard to adapt to those changes. Also, your mindset and how you respond to those changes can contribute to how much you get out of those changes. I grew up hearing the saying, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” Overall, I think that saying is dangerous. There are a lot of things in this world that needs to change. In one person’s eyes something can look and work perfect for them, but to another’s not at all.

Change is going to happen and instead of being upset and refusing to accept it, embrace the change. I am not always good at accepting the change because like anyone I love being comfortable, but God didn’t make us just to be comfortable.

I am more of a go with the flow person, to begin with, so I tend to dwell less on the things I can’t change. My job and what it requires from me tend to change frequently, sometimes daily. I could go about it with the mindset of, “Why do we have to change how this is done? There’s no reason to.” That mindset isn’t going to do me any good and just put me in a place where I can’t be told anything. Newsflash if you think you know everything, you don’t. If I respond to it with a mindset that is more accepting of that change (that’s going to happen whether I like it or not) I will get more out of the change. Chances are those changes are going to have some good results, even though they may not be seen instantly.

One thing I have been told at a couple of my previous jobs has been that I bring joy to the environment. My mindset is what has gotten me through some hard times, but don’t get me wrong there are many times where my mindset starts to head in the wrong direction, and I or someone else has to put me in to check.

I worked at facilities at IWU for nearly three years. This area of IWU is at the bottom of the totem pole so that means the jobs aren’t always easy or glamorous and can be easy to come in hating life. The majority of people are older men, with a sprinkle of women. Several of them have come to me saying that they miss me because I actually smiled and didn’t come in and just complain about life. I am human so I can complain A LOT, but I also don’t want to forever complain because it not only makes me feel worse but it definitely can annoy those around me. I know I am not the only one who has experienced being in a great mood but as soon as you get around someone who is complaining they end up rubbing off onto you and you start to complain.

Change is inevitable so just let it happen.