Change: Adapting vs Igniting

"Change is constant in life and will manifest itself in one of two ways: your environment will change forcing you to adapt, or you will change forcing your environment to adapt. Whichever the case, seek the opportunity to grow." ~ Jason Huntsinger

Today's post is sparked by change that came my way recently. Uninvited, unexpected, unnecessary and unyielding...but it came anyway. My environment changed beyond my control which forced me to adapt. As I've mentioned before, I loathe passivity yet this is what my option is now. I tried and tried, perhaps to a fault, to fight this change with words, actions and emotions, but here I am adapting to a change I disagree with.

The fact of the matter is that change will always be part of our lives. It is likely one of the only constants in life. Change is everywhere and, as the quote states above, we really have two options here. One is as I am forced to do now: adapt. This is our response when the environment we live in changes around us. The company we work for closes or suffers layoffs, someone we love ends our relationship, or we suffer the consequences of a failure. Trying to adapt to change can be petrifying, devastating or just plain burdensome; nonetheless it comes and doesn't back off even when we react with one of these sensations.

The other version of change is much more proactive. It's the instigation of change. A challenge to the status quo of our lives. This type of change is what prompts us to finally take a stand and fight for ourselves, lose weight, stop smoking, change careers or even detach from the negative influences in our lives.  This is how we ignite a spark of change...ourselves. Passivity versus action. Adapting versus igniting. When we are the force of change we choose the environment that surrounds us.

Granted, we don't always have control of every situation in our lives. Some instances are give and take. Perhaps you've read my previous post on the state of calm. But to some extent we can employ our senses, intuition, experience and education to foresee and preempt the change coming our way.

"Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." ~ Leo Tolstoy

I am going to be a little bold here and say that those of us who don't think change is as prevalent as I claim are merely experts at adapting to it, and fail to see the opportunities to ignite their own change. Taking the examples above--layoffs, relationships, failure--think back and see how taking a proactive approach to life could have prevented a passive adaptation. Now try to understand how playing catch-up to the changing environment is stripping you of the opportunities to plan the route to your own goals, and accomplish everything you intend to in this life.

"You have exactly one life in which to do everything you'll ever do. Act accordingly." ~ Colin Wright