Caught in Our Own Trap - Avoiding Change
As we age, we often take the path of least resistance—and why not? We've spent our lives working hard, achieving goals, and adapting to ever-changing circumstances. So, what’s wrong with wanting to enjoy things as they are? It’s comforting to have stability and requires no effort to slip through our unchanged days. However, there are traps we fall into as we age that prevent us from being our best at every age. One of these traps is becoming complacent and avoiding change in our lives, environments, and within ourselves.
If nothing is changing, if you are not changing, are you really living at all? Life is changing; everything is evolving every day—every plant, every animal, every aspect of our environment is changing minute by minute. If you are not changing, the world and everything in it is passing you by. Whether you like it or not, without any input from you, you are still aging. If you are avoiding other changes in your life and not engaging with life in new ways, the only thing you are doing is aging.
This feeling of invisibility and being left behind by the world is often attributed to societal attitudes towards aging. But is society really the cause, or are we the cause? Change pushes us out of our comfort zones, forcing us to learn new things, develop new skills, and expand our perspectives. Embracing change can lead to personal growth, self-discovery, and a greater understanding of ourselves and the world around us.
By choosing complacency over change, we lose our ability to evolve with each new day. When we resist change, we risk becoming isolated and disconnected from the people and things around us. As we age, it's important to adapt to changing circumstances and challenges. Resisting change can make us more vulnerable to setbacks and difficulties, as we may lack the flexibility and resilience needed to cope with life's uncertainties.
Aging is a privilege and each day is filled with new possibilities. All we have to do is be willing to make the effort to take advantage of and embrace these possibilities. If it feels like life is passing you by, it is most likely because you have stopped moving.