I can speak for a lot of people when I say that routines feel safe. It creates a barrier of comfort. Consistency is really comfortable, but at what point does staying the same become harmful?

For me, changing is incredibly difficult. It’s stressful and unfamiliar. Every year, I go to school, and every year, it’s very different. The interesting thing about this is how no matter where I find myself, I learn to adapt. Something about adapting is very human, which makes sense, because it’s our instinct. Every living animal tries to adapt. It’s about survival for other animals, but for humans, it’s a different story. We get to choose where we go, what we want, and what we do. We are allowed to choose comfort. We are in full control. In a broad view, change has definitely happened. Evolution is an example for humanity as a whole, but evolution can only happen as a result of individual changes.

Changing is apart of life, because naturally, we grow up. Our bodies and our minds change. Sometimes it can happen so slowly that you don’t even notice. Changing slowly is a lot easier to endure, but, things won’t be so gentle forever. You will never know how fast your life will change. Even if you choose to stay comfortable or not, life is going to offer you unpredictable moments. It’s almost unavoidable.

Why is Change Even Important?

While life in general will force you to change, you can continue to follow harmful pathways and repeat bad, unhealthy habits. Addiction is proof of this. It’s comfortable, but that doesn’t mean it’s necessarily good for you. A reason we might be opposed to change so much is because familiar. While we are creatures of adaptation and curiosity, we are also creatures of routine, comfort, and stability. Getting used to something so much can make you dependent on it. Becoming addicted to alcohol makes your body used to it. If you quit drinking it, you get the shakes, which is your bodies response to you leaving your routine. Alcohol has a big effect on the nervous system since it’s so intertwined with our mental state, which can worsen the shakes. This is why change is imperative.

A big part of changing is also growth. You can’t improve yourself if you never quit your old ways and find something new. A small thing that I think most of us can relate to is fidgeting. I’m sure a lot of us bite our nails, or pick at skin until they bleed. They’re bad habits that often get ignored. We all know we do it, but it’s so subconscious and almost comforting. These actions have been described as coping mechanisms for anxiety and stress, and provides stimulation. This easy stimulation and comfort, despite the contradictory pain it brings, shows how easily we can get addicted to something, and never stop. I pick at my lips a lot. It’s not like I would ever really want to, but when I’m sitting down and doing nothing, I just feel off. I need to mess with something, so I’ve become a victim of my own bad habit. When I was very young, I used to bite my nails so often, my mom noticed and made me quit. In a literal sense, changing my ways did help me grow, specifically, my fingernails.

Once you learn to get rid of your bad habits, you can finally embrace a better version of yourself. It’s not even just bad habits physically, but it’s mentally, like your mindsets, thoughts, views. People always talk about becoming the best version of themselves. Personally, I don’t think this is even possible. To tell the truth, we are always going to change. It’s painfully necessary to be different than you used to be. I think we have always had the best version of ourselves, but it’s the things like familiarity, bad habits, addiction, and poor mindsets that keep you from showing it.

Changing, voluntarily or not, is scary and unknown, but it’s needed. How can you become better without the risk of becoming worse? That’s why we are so afraid of change; there’s no control. You might think, “What if I fail? What if everything goes wrong?” But the real question is, “What everything goes right?” Change is scary, but staying the same is scarier.