Change As Catalyst

Photo: Geralt /Pixabay

‘It is not the strongest of the species that survive, nor the most intelligent, but the one most responsive to change.

—Charles Darwin

Change is an interesting thing in our lives. We meet and greet it in different ways; sometimes grateful for it, and other times lamenting it has become a part of our lives. As children, when everything we see and discover is truly brand new, change is not scary or threatening, but we are excited to embark on this new adventure. Later on, as we get older, we begin expecting certain things in our lives to remain the same, at least for a while, and changes in these things are seen as ‘difficulties’ or ‘problems’ to be dealt with quickly. 

So what happened to this perspective between childhood and adulthood? Historically, mankind’s evolution counted on us knowing which animals, plants and situations were dangerous and could hurt us, allowing us to make quicker decisions and moving on to safer ‘ground’ with our lives intact. Each new thing we encountered at this time could possibly be a threat, and so we either learned to avoid this type of situation, or we possibly did not survive to tell about it. While our known world is far less dangerous than in previous times, the signals we receive are harder to see, hear, and decipher; they are far more sophisticated in appearance and intent, and it is sometimes difficult to tell exactly what we are facing. In short, we now think with our ancient brains making some decisions, and our advanced brains making others, and that can be confusing at times. 

What to do? One school of thought asks us to presume to best intentions and make the best of the situation at hand, which teaches us new and different lessons, some pleasant, some not so pleasant, but we can then move forward into similar situations and make better decisions in the future. Another way to see this is to reject what is in front of us, sticking with the ‘tried-and-true’ and what we already know, even if the situation is truly novel in our lives. This tack puts us in the position of adapting the knowledge we do have to a situation in which our prior knowledge will not suffice, and failure lies in front of us. A third way might be a combination of these two, where we collaborate with others, asking questions to clarify, better see the differences and likenesses, apply carefully selected older ideas to the new situation, while experimenting with new methods to better learn how to navigate the new situation. Each failure we experience in this then becomes just another way it will not work, and allows us to look at new ideas and ways to putting our minds to the task at hand; perhaps creating something we had not considered before, but that allows us to see our problem or project in a new and unique way.

Responding to change does not have to be difficult, but it is sometimes difficult to see the ‘new way’ we need to see in order to make things work the way we would like. Looking at new things and situations is something we were once so very good at doing, something that was exciting to us, and that can be intriguing again. Letting go of a particular way, thought, or technique from our past, and simply allowing ourselves to see the ‘new’ in everything, will allow us the freedom and creativity to make wonderful, new things happen in our lives and for a better world.