Change: Good or Bad?

It feels like everything is in flux right now. Things are in a constant state of change, even things that feel like they are in limbo.

As I think about what people in the world are dealing with, whether it is:

an illness
concern about a loved one
financial loss
work stability

I am also noticing:

the daffodils are in bloom
it feels like spring
random kindness
people have learned to connect in unexpected ways.

This all made me think – change happens. Sometimes it’s expected, anticipated or predicted. Sometimes it’s a shock. Sometimes it’s a relief. Sometimes it’s welcomed.

In many cases, you don’t have control over the changes that affect you. For example, a company needs to reduce their workforce, so you are laid off. A spouse decides he/she can’t continue in the marriage, so you go through a divorce. A business partner decides to retire, so you buy their part of the business. A virus travels the world, so you hunker down and try to figure out how to manage when your whole world has turned upside down.

Change happens. When it does happen, do you usually make a judgment about the change? Is it either good or bad?

Who’s heard the saying “Change is Good”? When you decide “Change is Good”, are you really judging the complete change? Or, are you judging how you are responding to the change right in that moment? As you judge the change, have you considered the long-term effect the change will have?

You may be asking yourself, “What does that mean?” Here’s an example. When I was in my mid-twenties I was engaged to be married. Six months before the wedding my
fiancé came to me and said he wanted to call off the wedding. I was devastated. This was a BAD change, right? Well, at that moment I would’ve agreed with you 100%! However, today (many years later), I would say it was a VERY GOOD change! HUH??? Now, as I look back over that time period, there were “signs” this relationship wasn’t solid and wasn’t really the type of life-long relationship I wanted from my marriage. A few years after this breakup, I met my husband, Rich. We have a wonderful relationship! Sure, we’ve had our ups and downs like everyone else, but I am very grateful we are together! If I had been married to the other person, I wouldn’t have had the opportunity to create this amazing life with Rich!

So…I’ll ask the question again was this particular change a good change or a bad change?

Change happens, whether we want it to or not. Sometimes it feels like it’s a horrific change initially. As time passes, we may see the value in the change, and it becomes a good change that may teach us a number of lessons. We may even become grateful for the change that we initially thought was a bad change. Can you think of an example from your own life where you thought a change was initially bad and it eventually turned out for the better?

It’s also possible for the opposite to happen as well. You experience a change you think is initially good and as time goes on you find it was a bad change.

How do you respond to the change? Do you feel it is something that is being done to you? Or, is the change just part of your life and the lessons you’re supposed to learn? Or, is it something totally different?