Personal Growth
Written By Lisa Masiello
“The only constant in life is change.”
That quote from the 6th-century Greek philosopher Heracl*tus is as accurate today as it was when he said those words.
This article will discuss the following.
(just keep reading or jump to the specific section you’re interested in)
Eight positive benefits you can achieve by embracing change
Four ways to embrace change
Nine inspirational quotes to help you embrace change
Change is inevitable for every one of us. We experience positive and negative change in small moments throughout our day and in large, life-altering events.
I’m sure you can think of several examples of personal and professional change you have experienced.
It may be something minor. Maybe your business client cancels a meeting, freeing your schedule to make additional sales calls, close new customers, and increase your commission.
Or change might have a more significant impact on all areas of your life. Maybe a family member needs more of your time because a serious car accident left them temporarily incapacitated.
Whether beneficial or harmful, enjoyable or depressing, change is inevitable and something everyone experiences. It’s how you face it that determines its impact on you. How you use it to enrich your life or overcome it to move forward to a better life.
The better you can adapt to life's circ*mstances by embracing change, the more successful you will be personally and professionally.
Eight positive benefits you can achieve by embracing change
Change often appears when least expected, and it is easy to think of change as negative. But embracing change enables you to see its powerful positive impact.
Embracing change drives growth in all areas of your life.
Most of us don't like change because it forces us to do things we are not comfortable doing. It pushes us outside our comfort zone and makes us feel “un”comfortable.
Because we have no control over change, we must learn and do new things. This enables us to grow and exposes capabilities, skills, and expertise we didn’t realize we possessed but had within us all along.
Embracing change helps you be adaptable and flexible.
Being comfortable means that we can be set in our ways, doing things the same way over and over again because it is easy or helps us feel confident and secure. In fact, we feel more insecure, vulnerable, and stress-filled when we lack the ability to adapt to new situations that change presents.
When we embrace change, we are adaptable to new circ*mstances, situations, and people and lean into the opportunities they offer. Welcoming change with enthusiasm enables you to uncover opportunities for improvement and advancement. You might never have discovered these opportunities if you were not open to grabbing them without hesitation.
Embracing change enables you to validate and re-evaluate your ideas and opinions.
We go through life meeting every new experience with an established set of ideas, opinions, and beliefs. This isn’t necessarily a bad thing. It just is what it is.
But, if you meet someone with completely opposing views and ideas or have an experience that causes you to question your established beliefs, you may discover that your point of view changes. It can cause you to reassess your life or career, reinforce the views you already have, or support your preexisting decisions and help you accomplish even greater goals.
Embracing change exposes your strengths.
How you react to life’s changes shows you what you’re made of. It exposes strengths inside you that you were never aware of or didn’t believe you possessed.
Embracing change lets you learn new things—and fail.
Continuing to live in a comfortable environment doing the same old, same old does not enable you to grow. It’s only in failure that you learn your biggest lessons and can emerge on the road to success. The more we embrace change, the more life experiences we have, and the more we learn about others and ourselves.
Embracing change gives you the guts to do more.
As you do more of anything in life, you become better and better at it. The same is true with change. Each time change makes you face a situation or an environment in which you are uncertain or uncomfortable, and you overcome your anxiety, you gain confidence that the next time the situation will be easier to handle. And the next time, even easier. And easier.
See AlsoKeep-the-change Definition & Meaning | YourDictionaryThe importance of staying up-to-date with industry trends and technological advancements.Have a Lot of Spare Change? Do This With ItWhat are the 5 Key Principles of Change Management | Zeda.ioWhile change can be challenging, the fear is removed, and the anticipation of greater opportunities and advancements comes into view. Your confidence builds as you regularly embrace change, gain confidence, and meet small goals. As a result, you are more likely to follow through on and achieve larger goals.
Embracing change lets you handle setbacks and appreciate success.
Setbacks are inevitable. Never will everything go perfectly for you. Embracing change means that you can be positive or at least be content in the knowledge that things will get better in the face of seemingly insurmountable obstacles.
The hidden benefit of a setback is that it makes your success even sweeter because you are aware of what you have overcome.
Embracing change lets you retake the direction you want to go.
You are in the driver's seat when you accept or lean into change. Of course, you will not always pick the right road to travel, but it enables you to take control of the wheel and be an active driver, so to speak. You can change course or take an exit if needed.
Rather than being a passenger with no opportunity to steer the car, you can be proactive, take control of the direction of your life, and live the life you want.
Four ways to embrace change
Putting a mindset of positive evolution, progress, and advancement into practice is certainly easier said than done, but it enables you to both benefit and learn from happy opportunities and unwelcome challenges as they come your way.
When a new situation presents itself, consider how you perceive the change. What is your first thought? What is your first reaction? Human nature often drives us in the direction of a negative response.
You may be offered a job promotion but feel, “I can’t take that job. I’m not qualified. I wouldn’t know what to do.”
Embracing change starts with adopting a positive mindset. One that enables you to expand your circle of experiences and knowledge and helps you grow. Instead of saying, “I can’t take the job. I’m not qualified. I wouldn’t know what to do,” say to yourself, “I will learn what I need to know. Other co-workers will show me the ropes until I feel comfortable in my new role. It may take a few months, but I can do it.”
Both positive and negative challenges provide us with teachings, insights, awareness, and understanding. We collect each of these, taking them with us throughout our lives, making us better and more well-rounded friends, co-workers, parents, spouses, and siblings.
Let’s look at a few more examples of embracing change.
Rather than saying, “There’s no way I’m ever going to figure this out,” say to yourself, “It may take more time than I thought, but I will do it.”
Rather than saying, “I failed,” say to yourself, “I didn’t succeed this time, but I gained some valuable insights and will use what I learned to succeed next time.”
Rather than saying, “This isn’t working, so I give up,” say to yourself, "What I'm doing right now isn't working, but if I use a different tactic or strategy and come at this challenge from a different direction, it may work.”
Embracing change causes you to be aware—to see things differently. To see difficulty as an opportunity to grow. To expand beyond yourself and the comfortable bubble we all like to live within. To try new things.
Be bold. Enlarge your perspective on life and people.
"What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger" comes to mind here. We are stronger and more resilient than we know or give ourselves credit for. It is only when we overcome seemingly overwhelming challenges that we learn what we are really made of.
Originally published in 1889 by German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche in his book Twilight of Idols, his quote, "What Doesn't Kill You Makes You Stronger," continues to be popular today.
Singer Kelly Clarkson included it in the lyrics of her song Stronger, released in 2011.
Over time, embracing change becomes easier and easier as you overcome each new challenge and accept uncertainty head-on. Here are five actions you can take to embrace change and steer a course through uncertainty successfully.
Be courageous and live without regrets
Each of us only has one life to live, and life goes by very quickly in the grand scheme of things. We never know when our last day is, and that’s probably a good thing. On the other hand, we often act as if we’re going to live forever, put things off, and say we’ll do it later.
“I’ll start traveling after I retire.”
“I’ll go back to school to get my degree after my children are adults and on their own.”
“I’ll move across the country to live in my dream city when I am more financially stable to make the move.”
Your retirement, your child's transition to adulthood, or financial stability may come years or decades from now. Is that really why you're putting off the opportunity to travel, get your degree, or move to your dream city, or are you afraid to take the first step?
On the other hand, if you knew you only had one year to live, how would your life change? You would most likely say you will be an active participant in life. You will do those things you dreamed of doing before you die. You’re going to start traveling. You’re going to finish your degree. You’re going to pack up and move.
But why are you doing this?
I ran the corporate marketing departments for large technology companies and fast-growing startups for 30 years. For decades I wanted to become an entrepreneur and own my own marketing consulting business. I always came up with reasons why I couldn’t do it.
I had responsibilities to the company I was working for.
I didn't have enough financial resources to bootstrap my business successfully.
I had personal responsibilities that took priority.
Finally, at almost 50 years old, I looked around and wondered where the time had gone. I realized that if the second half of my life was going to go as quickly as the first half, I was in for a speedy ride. At that moment, I decided I had to make a move.
I had to start my own business, no matter my personal or professional situation at the time. It was my dream. My “excuses” for not starting the business were pushed aside by one powerful thought.
“I don’t want to come to the end of my life and regret what I never tried. If I start my own business and it is successful, it will be fantastic. I’ll be living my dream. If I try and fail, what’s the worst that can happen? I can always go and get another job working for someone else. No one will think less of me. At least I know I tried.”
Don’t look back with regret. Look forward with anticipation.
In the end, I did start my business, TECHmarc Labs, and its success has led me here.
2. Find a community of supporters
Embracing change is so much easier when you have someone on your side who is cheering you on. They help keep things in perspective, offer alternative points of view, act as a sounding board to listen to your challenges, share ideas, motivate you when times get tough, and celebrate your wins.
These supporters don’t have to be expensive life coaches or high-powered mentors. You can join a mastermind group of other like-minded people with similar goals. You can ask a close friend, a family member, or a work colleague to help you stay motivated and on track to achieving your goals.
You don’t have to spend a lot of money to get the support you need. You need one person or a community of people who are honest, supportive, and have your back.
3. Continually open your mind to new things and experiences
Life is full of uncertainty. I wrote a whole blog post talking about the benefits of accepting uncertainty.
Even when your road through life gets bumpy, it is a teachable moment—an opportunity to gain insight. To learn something new. To challenge your beliefs. To face an uncomfortable situation.
If you never open your mind beyond your fixed environment, you will continue to live in the situation you are currently in. You will never expose yourself to new opportunities for growth.
Continually open your mind to new things and experiences and keep learning.
4. Stick with it – persevere!
It’s easy to look at celebrities and think they have achieved overnight success. We live in a world of immediate gratification and assume that our journey to success, wealth, happiness, or whatever we desire will happen overnight.
American actor, singer, and comedian Eddie Cantor said, "It takes 20 years to become an overnight success." That is so true and one of my favorite quotes. We never see the blood, sweat, tears, and time others go through to become “overnight successes.”
It’s natural to want to give up when you become frustrated, experience failure, or doubt that you are on the right road. Yes, you will experience detours along the way, and your journey may take longer than you expect.
If you stick with it and persevere, you can achieve your dreams. The key is to keep moving forward, no matter how small each step is.
Start Now
It can be difficult to embrace change when you ask yourself, “what can I do to live my best life?” That question seems so overwhelming and unattainable.
But, if you ask yourself, “what change can I make today to make tomorrow better" it only takes a minor tweak. Imagine how much progress you would make on the road to achieving your goals if you did this for two months, four months, six months.
There’s no time like the present. Your life will continue to change around you whether you like it or not. It’s time to embrace change, harness its opportunities, and use them to achieve what you want.
Start embracing change today!
Nine inspirational quotes to help you embrace change
“The greatest discovery of all time is that a person can change his future by merely changing his attitude.”
— Oprah Winfrey
Oprah Winfrey is an American talk show host, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. She is best known for her former television talk show, The Oprah Winfrey Show.
“The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not on fighting the old, but on building the new.”
— Socrates
Socrates is a Greek philosopher who is credited as the founder of Western philosophy.
“Don’t be afraid to give up the good to go for the great.”
— John D. Rockefeller
John D. Rockefeller is an American entrepreneur and philanthropist who founded the Standard Oil Company. He is considered to have been the wealthiest American of all time.
“Every great dream begins with a dreamer. Always remember, you have within you the strength, the patience, and the passion to reach for the stars to change the world.”
— Harriet Tubman
Harriet Tubman is an American abolitionist and social activist who was born into slavery. She escaped slavery and rescued others by working with antislavery activists and the Underground Railroad.
“Change the way you look at things and the things you look at change.”
— Dr. Wayne W. Dyer
Dr. Wayne Dyer is an American author and motivational speaker in the field of self-development.
“Change is painful, but nothing is as painful as staying stuck somewhere you don’t belong.”
— Mandy Hale
Mandy Hale is an American blogger, author, and creator of the social media movement, The Single Woman.
“For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: ‘If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?’ And whenever the answer has been ‘No’ for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something.”
— Steve Jobs
Steve Jobs is an American entrepreneur, industrial designer, and inventor. He is best known as the co-founder of Apple.
“It is never too late to be what you might have been.”
— George Eliot
George Eliot is the pen name of British novelist, journalist, and poet Mary Ann Evans. She was one of the leading writers of Victorian England.
“Don’t limit yourself. Many people limit themselves to what they think they can do. You can go as far as your mind lets you. What you believe you can achieve.”
— Mary Kay Ash
Mary Kay Ash is an American businesswoman and founder of Mary Kay Cosmetics.
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About the author
Lisa M. Masiello is an entrepreneurial powerhouse, author, and advocate for women's advancement and independence. With over three decades of expertise, she's the force behind TECHmarc Labs, delivering marketing strategies that fuel business growth. Lisa writes books and industry articles that share actionable insights to drive personal growth and business development, providing readers with practical tools for success. As a committed advocate for unlocking the human potential, Lisa empowers women to navigate the intricate paths of life and career with clarity and intention to become their best selves. Lisa is also currently exploring her passion for storytelling by writing mystery fiction.
Lisa Masiello
