Ch-ch-ch-chaaaanggess (you know you sung that in your head)

Why is change so hard? Seems to be a common question, but I would argue it's not actually that hard, but it's a skill we need to learn. To learn how to face it, embrace it and not be scared of it. I am one who LOVES tradition. I love the rhythm of things. I did not used like change even a little. There are still some things I'll fight to the death for. . .like I'll be damned if I ever don't get a real Christmas Tree the day after Thanksgiving. BUT, I've learned to approach change with a totally different attitude. The learning process was slow, but it feels a bit like one day I kind of just realized I was there. And now it excites me.

There are a million studies about how most people would rather cling to something harmful then they would change up what is familiar. I am taking out anything here that involves addiction. That is a different ball game and that is NOT what I am referring to. I'm referring to things like staying in a crappy job you hate instead of taking the new opportunity simply because your scared. Or staying a relationship that you know isn't right just because you don't want anything to change. Personally, I had to start reshaping my thoughts around these things and I had to start small. Just because something is different, doesn't mean it's bad or that it can't be a million times better that what currently is. The stress we deal with when something big changes in our life almost solely comes from us fighting that change. And you know what the only constant in life is. . . change. It's constantly changing so we're constantly spending our energy fighting it.

Now is the PRIME example of this. The world around us has DRASTICALLY changed for most people. I don't fault anyone for any means they've turned to for handling it. This is such a unique time in history that none of us were prepared for and most of us are doing the best we can. I'm looking at this more from a business perspective but it applies to personal life too. I've seen this in most people I'm social media friends with, but will speak only to my personal experience.

I've experienced extreme changes in my businesses. Obviously real estate took a hit and I won't even go there right now, but my main example of embracing change is with Happy People Hike. This was supposed to be our year. We had a few large events planned (including visiting Outdoor Retailer which is a big deal), we were ready to meet with retailers for wholesale, our hike club was just getting it's feet on the ground and it came to a horrendous halt when all this started. To say I was sad, angry, defeated, disappointed, all of it is an understatement. This has been my dream for so long and we were finally ready for it. So of course, I spent a few days sulking and I still feel a lot of those things, but feeling those things while I sit and do nothing is worthless.

Plan 1 for year 2020 didn't work, so change it up. Now we're on to Plan 2. Plan 2 is all about building our community. Connecting with others, because that's what we all need right now anyway, and ensuring we have a strong base of followers that we can build upon. Is it making us the money we would have made with Plan 1. . .not even close. But is it building a stronger brand, mission, and connection, 100%. And to be honest, I think that is exactly what we needed and better in the long run anyways. When I adjusted my attitude and embraced the changes that were happening (none of which I could control anyways), things shifted. We started selling more, we have more interaction on our social media, I've talked to a ton of new people from around the globe, and I'm even learning how to use Google Ads!

I've learned through buisness and a lot of personal trials recently that as soon as I embrace the change and let go of my death grip on the past, things get better. A lot better. Things that I could not have imagined in a million years could be good, are great. So while I know it's hard, do the work. Do the work of changing your attitude and embracing the unknown. From someone who has done a shit ton of internal work to get to the other side, it's so worth it.