Monday, February 8, 2016

The Philosophy of Change (Change: part 1)

On the whole, people don't much get along well with "change." Most of us just don't like it. Change is something to be fought against and conquered, not embraced. Change is the enemy.
To most of us.

To be honest, I am one of those "most of us." I do well with routine. I don't get bored easily. I'm not always looking for the "next, new thing" or anything like that. However, I am not necessarily averse to change; I just forget about it. Forget about doing it.

That's really the core of the issue with change: For most of us, change is something that happens to us, not something that we instigate. We become victims of change, and that is really the thing we don't like. That and things are different afterwards. Most of us would rather bad things stay the way they are than risk any kind of change. Change could, after all, make things worse.

But let me remind everyone of Einstein's definition of insanity: doing the same thing over and over again and expecting a different (or better) result.

Look, I am fairly anti-tradition, mostly because tradition is the antithesis of change. Being locked into tradition (or doing something the same way) for the sake of the tradition (or doing something the same way) has always been (well, since middle school, anyway (yes, "The Lottery" by Shirley Jackson had a huge impact on me)) mostly foolish in my eyes. Tradition (or doing something the same way) should always be evaluated to see what purpose it's performing and held up against the purpose it's supposed to be performing. For instance, Christmas gatherings are supposed to be joyous and fun occasions but, if gathering with your family doesn't not meet that goal (like if it's a thing you dread every year but do anyway because of tradition) then you shouldn't do it. That's a bad tradition. But I digress...
(And, no, I am not talking about my family with that example. It's just a thing you see a lot of at the time of year we just came through (that being Christmas (as I'm writing this)).)

So...

A thing I try to do every so often in my life is to look at the things I'm doing to see if they are meeting the goals they are supposed to be meeting. I don't want to be one of those people who just keeps doing the same thing, only harder, over and over and hoping for a different result.

Now, before I go on, I need to say a few things:
1. My wife says that I missed my window for writing this post, especially since it's not going to post until some time in February.
2. I disagree with my wife because, as I write this, it is technically (and by "technically" I mean that it is (by almost a week)) still January, and this kind of thing can be done any time during January. (Traditionally (heh heh))
3. My wife says this post (series of posts) is for me. You can read it, but it's not for you. I think I agree with that. This place has become a good one for sort of keeping track of what I'm doing in my life at any given moment, so it will help me remember the changes that took place last year, a year of more than the normal amount of changes. Remember, I sometimes (frequently) forget to make them, so there aren't always changes. At least not ones initiated by me.
4. If you choose to read it... well, I hope it's helpful in some way, but it's not meant to be. I'm just putting out there what happened and, probably, some context so that it's understandable.

All of that said, 2015 started out with change. I spent the last month or two of 2014 looking at where I was and what I was doing and deciding on what things were working and what things weren't. So January of 2015 started with change.
But I guess we'll get to that next time.

20 comments:

  1. I do a fair amount of self-reflection which means I have to be open to change, no matter how scary it seems. Looking forward to your posts.

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    1. Elsie: Did you know that self-reflection is on the very low end of things that people (in general) do?

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  2. I hate change. I'm also one of those people whose family holiday get-togethers are nothing but stress and drama. I moved 1500 miles away, and didn't even attend this year, and still it was nothing but stress and drama.

    I think this will be a very interesting series of posts. Looking forward to it!

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    1. M.J.: Well, I'm hoping it is but, still, they are mostly going to be dealing with the changes I did last year.

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  3. Your wife didn't think February was a good time to talk about change?
    Sometimes you have to initiate it. Like doing the same workout day after day soon has no effect - you have to change it up.

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    1. Alex: No, February is late to do a post dealing with stuff from the previous year.

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  4. I'm a creature of habit and don't like change. However, if I see something not working in my life, I do re-evaluate and try to determine how to change it up to make it better.

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    1. JKIR,F!: I try to be as non-habitual as I can while still being a person who gravitates toward habit.

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  5. Most people want change that improves their lives. But most of the time, the word "change" means the destruction of some privilege. It means that something that they found useful is going away. That's why most people are allergic to change.

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    1. Michael: I don't really agree with you at all here. Most people fantasize about being struck by "good fortune" lightning, but that doesn't mean they want change that improves their lives. If they wanted that, they could do it, because it is well within the power of each individual to make changes in their lives that will improve them.

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  6. I used to be a creature of habit, but I've forced myself to initiate and adopt changes here and there. They've even brought out some things I never expected, either. Like how much I actually love talking to kids about writing. Or the time I took a trip to another country, on my own, just to explore the world a little. I stepped way outside of my comfort zone, but it was absolutely worth it.

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    1. ABftS: Now I want to know what country that was...

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  7. You might be talking about my family with that Christmas thing. And of course these posts are about you. It is your blog after all. If I didn't always find it interesting I wouldn't read it--I would change. Because that's what's best to do when something isn't working.

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    1. Jeanne: It is, but it's amazing how many people would rather not.

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  8. I feel like I'm in a constant state of change. Always trying to fix something. Sometimes I go the opposite of others, and strive for change when things are stressful instead of falling back on the familiar and comfort, which has psychological origins all its own.

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    1. Shannon: I'm not sure I would put fixing things in the change category. Fixing things seems to me to be about returning things to the status quo.

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  9. Interesting. I'll have to watch what changes you announce.

    I don't reserve change to just January or any particular time. But I agree that you should be reviewing your life and challenging yourself whenever possible.

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    1. Briane: I tend to not use January for that at all, except in relation the blog.

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  10. Apparently I haven't been over to your place in a while, but I found it interesting that you and I are dealing with this topic of change.

    Some of the best years of my life were when I was touring. Nearly every day was a new town and a new situation. There were always opportunities to eat in different places and meet people I'd never met before. I like that kind of change a lot.

    The change that is imposed upon me to my discomfort or inconvenience is not something I typically want, but I tend to adapt. Gosh, if people can't adapt, I'm not sure how they can enjoy life. I guess a lot of them don't.

    Arlee Bird
    A to Z Challenge Co-host
    Tossing It Out

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    1. Lee: Sorry for the late response to this. I only just saw your comment.
      Yes, I have also noticed that we are both talking the same topic.

      I think it's safe to say that most people are dissatisfied with their lives, but that's also because most people don't take an active role in their own lives.

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