Why is change so difficult?
We are constantly confronted with challenges and whether or not to make certain changes. When we realize that we are bombarded with a lot of questions. Some of these are:
- Is it necessary to make any changes?
- Why do I need to make changes?
- Can I make these changes?
The questions stem from we like how we do things and want to keep them that way. In a sense, it provides us peace and comfort to keep to our routines. If anyone or anything proposes or forces us to change our way of doing things, we tend to react in a certain way. This reaction is sometimes based on fear or a lack of self-confidence and motivation. As Abraham Maslow mentions below, at some point we need to choose between 2 options, step forward and grow, or step back and stay where we feel safe.
One of the main reasons why we are hesitant or resistant to change is that we undervalue our capacity to handle the change. In other words, belittling our capability and capacity to change, can lead to feeling fearful and anxious towards change. We will therefore not have the motivation to make any changes. This goes hand in hand with feeling insecure and uncertain. It becomes difficult to see change as a chance or opportunity. Next time we will look at different types of changes and what we need to make changes.