Why is change so hard? Because to make progress you have to deal effectively with these three things:
1. Uncertainty. To change means wading into the unknown. That scares some people. But progress demands you let down your need for control and do something new. You have to say to yourself, “I’m cool with the fact I’m not going to know what the heck is going on. I’m going for it anyway. I’m going to enter that dark cave. I don’t know if I’m going to be eaten alive. I don’t know if it’s going to turn out bad. But I’m going to go in. I’m going to trust and believe in my ability to figure things out. I don’t know how it’s going to go, but I know that I’m going to show up as the best of who I am.”
2. Judgement. When you try to change, people will often ask, “Who do you think you are? Why can’t you just be happy?” They’ll judge your ideas: That’s a stupid idea. When it comes, don’t let their fears become your fears. Are you going to put your dreams on hold just because some person who doesn’t even know you or what your capabilities are, judged you once? No. Your job is to live that fullest expression of who you know you can be. Your job is to judge yourself as capable, deserving and ready. Your job is to judge the terrain ahead and get going. They’ll never stop judging you but that doesn’t mean you need to stop.
3. Struggle. Change inevitably brings hardship and hard work. There’s no way around it: progress requires efforts outside our comfort zones. Don’t bemoan that struggle. Honor it as an opportunity for character development.
