If nothing ever changed, there’d be no butterflies.

Butterflies and Children constantly changing...

Recently I re-posted a quote as my Facebook status and was dumbfounded as to the reaction I received from some of my friends.  Here’s the quote:

Change is always for the better. You needn’t resist; you only need change your mind, and you will capture your life flow like a tamed river. – Doreen Virtue

I’ve always had to live with change in my life and so I’ve always been accustomed to it.  Over the past 20 years every company I’ve worked for has gone through some major reorganization or has changed it’s processes in a major way.  My last position at the Girl Scouts experienced many changes and it’s interesting how different generations of people deal with the process of change.  I really do believe that change is always for the better but I don’t believe in change for changes sake.

The way I see it there are three types of people when it comes to change.  The first type of person I’ll call “Negative Nelly”.   Nelly refuses to change even when it might be to her benefit.  She fears change because she doesn’t understand it and sabotages the efforts of those who would implement it.  She makes statements like, “I’ve always done it this way” or “I refuse to change my process, it works for me”.

The second type of person I’ll call “Gun-ho Gail”.  Gail is so excited about the change and can’t wait for it to happen.  She talks about it all the time and looks for ways to implement it quicker without consideration of the overall efforts on everyone.  She makes statements like, “I just thought of this great new process so let’s start doing it today!” or “Why do I need to tell anyone that I changed my process if it works for me?”.

The third type of person I’ll call “Level-headed Lindsey”.  Lindsey can see from all sides of the imminent change and instead of fighting it like Nelly, or pushing it like Gail, she becomes one with it.  A synchronized harmony that flows along to allow the changes that need to occur as well as creating a “best practices” standard so the landscape doesn’t completely change.

The main point of Doreen Virtues’ comment was to flow with the changes in your life.  Open your mind to new ways of thinking about the changes in your life then they won’t seem so bad or abrupt.  We always have free will to do whatever we want to do, however, we don’t have control over anything except how we react or how we process the change.  Change will happen whether we want it to or not.  And maybe some change isn’t always good or “for the better” but if we never changed then we wouldn’t be able to truly appreciate those changes in our life that are great!

Like the butterfly I had to go through many changes good and bad to become the person I am today.  And I suspect I have many more changes ahead but with change comes possibility and I know I will be the better for it!